“Activation August” I’ve decided to call it. Action on the path I’ve set out on, movement on my journey. DOING. MOVING. Move out of my head and into the land of the living through actions. Deliberate and with awareness. Start walking on the trail I’m always talking about, instead of just talking about it. This is my month of ACTION.
It’s only five days into the month and I’m doing well. Hiking solo, working each day actively on my passions. Writing, hiking, nature and learning. Doing something every day that propels me along. But action truly comes in many forms. It can manifest itself in the physical actions you take, or in the small, tiny choices that take no physical action at all. Saying yes. Saying no. Each time you make a mindful decision or choice, you are in action. As a matter of fact, it’s the mental, emotional awareness behind the action that makes it true activation. Action, without awareness, is just movement. Like picking up weights and just flailing your arms around instead of determined, concise movement, each choice needs to have purpose. Without purpose, it’s just movement, not improvement.
As a writer, I know the importance of having each sentence either reveal something about the character or propel the story forward. All else is filler. Avoid filler. The same is true of life. Each decision should be based on either revealing a strength or weakness about yourself, or it should propel you along in your journey. If it reveals a weakness, work to make yourself stronger. If it reveals a strength, keep doing it. Either way, even the choice to have salad over pizza is an action. It’s a deliberate choice to keep you on your path.
It’s the simple ability to say yes to an opportunity that gets you closer to your goal, or saying no to something that takes you in the wrong direction; action is living mindfully towards your goals. It takes practice. It takes determination and the knowledge of what your path is. Then you can ask yourself what your decisions are telling you. When you do something that goes against your path or your heart, what are you saying about yourself? What are you saying about that action? Does it propel you towards your goal or does it reveal something about you? Weaknesses, strengths, needs, desires–each choice tells a story. Be actively aware of every choice you make. Accept it. It’s your choice. Go for a walk or don’t. It is never wrong. For we are responsible for the choices we make. Not our parents or our spouse. Not our family, friends or society. We are. So we need to make careful, mindful choices based on our own journey. It’s not easy. It never will be. But each choice makes it easier to receive the things you need. Like a wheel in motion, as long as you are moving, you aren’t growing moss.
So I’ll keep moving. Keep making mindful decisions that propel me forward. Action isn’t just about running a marathon or hiking a mountain. It’s the deliberate awareness that comes with the physical action. It’s the marriage of the two that makes it ACTIVATION!
Trekking The Soul 