| Happy Sunday, everyone. In the Bhagavad Gita, the god Krishna gives Arjuna some very interesting advice. There are two main messages that stand out to me: "Do not focus on a specific result when performing a work." (paraphrased) There are levels to this. On one level, it sounds like "don't have any desires." But that's a misreading. It's not about passivity. It's about focusing on the journey. When you have a predetermined path you're unwilling to deviate from, and the specific coordinates of the destination keyed into your physio spiritual GPS system, you limit yourself. Hem yourself in. Nor is Krishna suggesting that you ignore goals altogether and just flit along through life, never thinking about or planning for the future. Nay: Have a higher aim, the highest aim. A general one that's all-encompassing. A desired result that's more like an umbrella under which millions of favorable potentialities blossom. My daughter tells me when she was discussing birth plans, her midwife would say "don't get too comfortable with your birth plan." Situations change. You may think you want the water birth, but the water birth might not want you. And sometimes, a birth at home doesn't even want to happen. You have to go where the energy of the moment takes you. Whatever you do, don't fight reality because your "birth plan" is changing. Embrace change. In that case, "giving birth to a healthy daughter" was the highest aim, and a worthy, noble one. Anything more specific is fine if it happens, it would be a nice surprise and a pleasant development, but it's not going to make or break the highest good. And guess what? You focus on the journey and embrace even the vicissitudes? It usually works out better than ever. "Evenness of mind and skillful action are the highest good. Focus on these and see yourself succeed." (again, paraphrased) This is necessary if you're not going to obsess over a specific goal and work only toward achieving that goal. You need an evenness of mind and you must act with great skill. If your mind is everywhere, if it's susceptible to the slings and arrows of the moment, if it gives itself over to every twist and turn, you will never get anywhere. You'll never keep your spirit trained on that highest good. Instead, you'll be thrown here and there, subjected to a barrage of miniature conflicting desires that can and will consume your focus. An even keel improves the ride through life. Focusing on the journey itself doesn't preclude you from a smooth, orderly voyage. With skill, attention to detail, willingness to act, and a calm mind that doesn't jump from one stimulus to another, all you need is to focus on the moment at hand—on the journey as it unfolds—and use the highest good as your North Star. Even though I don't think I ever sat down and laid things out like this in a formal sense, this is how I've led my life. And it's worked well for me. All other other people I know who live their lives like this are also very accomplished and content with how things turned out. What do you think about this? Do you have any principles you live by? Perhaps you haven't thought about them like that. Well, if you don't mind, take the time to think about them like that. Do a quick survey of your life and try to hone in on the guiding principles. What would you write? Let me know in the comment section of Weekly Link Love. Take care, everyone. | 