A series of essays….
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THE LIGHT YOU BRING INTO THIS WORLD IS
BEAUTIFUL, IRREPLACEABLE, AND NEEDED. —- TWLOHA
….as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E Hughes
I know… I know… This is a mouthful of words. Actually, the term self-alignment has been part of our spiritual vernacular for many years and can be identified with mindfulness, or the state of living in the moment. Living a purposeful life, recognizing our goals and the path to achieve them, brings us full circle. For me, this is where simplicity and living a simple life comes in and helps to round out the picture…keeping us humble and in control.
Here’s to making Self-Alignment, Purposefulness, and Mindfulness the keys to unlocking our best life possible.
Purposefulness & Self Alignment
My father was proud of the vehicles he chose to drive and call his own. He would trade-in his Chevrolets every two years throughout the 1950’s even though it always looked as though they just rolled off the new car lot with a spit shine and a snappy tune playing on the radio. Cars were definitely his thing; we all knew this. No eating in the car unless I say so. Keep your feet down and where they belong. Don’t touch or smudge the windows. And yet, it didn’t bother us all that much because we knew exactly what was expected of us, I suppose.
He had a mental schedule designed to keep his car maintained and running well and rarely did his schedule deviate, for as long as I can remember: oil change, check all fluids, tune-up, rotate tires that was followed by a wheel alignment which consisted of adjusting the angle of the tires to the car manufacturer specifications. The purpose was to reduce tire wear and to ensure that vehicle travel was straight and true.
Truth be told, my older brother and I were proud to sit in dad’s cars. His vehicle was the shiny penny among all of the others on the road. Taking pride in something can be a wonderful thing and should pay-off in the end. It can show that you have a purpose and a reason to care about something and/or someone and help them to provide such profound joy in life. I hope dad found great joy in life by simply loving his vehicles…
So, I’m thinking that if objects require proper alignment in order to run straight and true, how would this concept apply to us and our own mental and emotional status? Are we ‘off the rails,’ so to speak, when our lives are ‘out of alignment’ and the world is slamming curve balls at us at 90 mph?
While looking up the word alignment in reference to cars, I was reintroduced to the prospect of becoming self-aligned, something I had dabbled in many years ago when a self-help group of friends met weekly to discover how to meditate, balance our chakras and lifestyles, and become more aware of the world around us. I was encouraged back then; I am even more encouraged about self-alignment, today.
In researching the term self-alignment, I’ve become more aware of the thoughtfulness and encouragement behind its basic concept. I understand how we could create a better world when each person is in alignment with their genuineness or authenticity, knows their purpose, and is able to inspire and create their dreams. It is imperative that we acquire the awareness, wisdom, and will to solve the problems we face so that we can build a better life, a better world. If we’re not aware of these problems in the first place, how can we change or begin to solve them?
We are all creatures of habit and as time goes by we cling to what makes us feel most comfortable. When life throws us curve balls, will we be prepared and able to cope with them long enough to allow hope to settle in and move us forward? Whether it’s our children leaving the nest to pursue their own future, a spouse passing and leaving a silence behind that is deafening, or experiencing great loss due to an unexpected disaster, how we react to a problem will make all the difference when moving forward.
Self-alignment can help prepare us for the unexpected because we are mindful of our own strengths and are better prepared to push fear aside when we need to the most. In turn, we become more aware of the world around us making it easier to help others in need while focusing on the true purpose of our own existence.
If someone said that they could offer you a key that would open a door that may have been holding you back from achieving your full potential — would you take it? When you open the door, light pours in from all directions connecting you with greater energy, more clarity, and the awakening of unrealized talents and abilities. Have you felt you were being held back (unfulfilled) by not holding the key to self-alignment and purposefulness within your higher self in order to ensure that your travels through this life are straight and true? May the light you bring into this world fill you up with an abundance of joy and love!
Simplicity
If we’ve used our ‘key,’ wisely, to open the door, the detritus left behind by our past life will be scattered by the wind of enlightenment. Our potential will be unleashed. Fear will be diminished if not depleted and life will become less cluttered and living a simple life will abound, rounding out the picture…keeping us humble and in full control of whatever comes our way. Close your eyes and breathe in, deeply. Let your breath out, slowly, slowly.. Now, proceed.
A simple lifestyle can become the key to unlocking our best life possible.
In his own way, my dad was seeking a life filled with less clutter and brimming with the pride and joy brought about by a job well done. Even his children learned quickly the parameters of his system and, ultimately, claimed for themselves the pride he felt in faithfully maintaining a prized possession.
Life was fairly simple back then. I was happy to welcome the summer sunshine into my playtime hours and wash all of the day’s dust off afterward in my nightly Mr. Bubble bath. Helping my mother make simple sandwiches to be packed in a wicker basket makes me smile. Hopping into the car as dad headed into the countryside on a late Saturday morning to find a roadside picnic table for us to sit at and enjoy our sandwiches together was always a simple pleasure. Life was good and wholesome.
Today, we can find joy in appreciating a simple life by casting away past tribulations and enjoying sitting in a colorful garden, a good book in hand, a cool drink in the other, and savoring the warmth of a sunny afternoon with gentle breezes caressing our faces. Discovering our blissful life is possible. Maintaining our path of self-alignment as we take on life’s responsibilities is more important now than ever before.
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| MOVING ON…..2013-2023 |
Copyright © 2023 by Jacqueline E Hughes
All rights reserved
