May the Force Be With You

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU

Same s--t different day. Sound familiar? Same old, same old. These are standard answers for many of my peers and even the more youthful of my friends have used the word “boring” to describe their current situation in life, work and sometimes their future’s outlook. Being stuck in a rut just sucks. Artists call it a “block”, executives call it a “dead-end job” students call it “practicum” and I call it a “telenovela”. Maybe I meant same s--t different network.

The biggest challenge in wanting something different is people are not often willing to DO something different. I’ve read that if you keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result, then you’re a horse’s ass (Ok I added the horse part) In a nutshell,
your situation will only change when YOU change, so today let’s talk about change, or at least making some changes. Tomorrow we welcome the first day of May, not only do we enter into the second quarter of 2005, in Western hemispheres Spring is in the air, and for most species of flora and fauna, life begins in the Spring. In a galaxy far, far away, it also marks the opening month of a small, under hyped sci-fi movie entitled Revenge of The Sith. (Yes, there is a connection, patience.)

Whether your Jedi Master is Yoda or Buddha the “force” is something to be reckoned with and not taken lightly. In Chinese philosophy it is called “qi” (pronounced chi) which means the circulating life energy that is thought to be inherent in all things. In simpler terms, it’s the life force. You may not be aware of it, but your surroundings, the way you live, the way you think have already caused clogging in your qi and the qi around you. If lately you feel you’ve been down on your luck, stuck to a routine, uncreative, and unhappy then it may be time for a change of scene. The wonderful thing about changing your “qi-nery” is that it is simple, inexpensive and can be done by anyone, anytime.

Ready padawan? Look around you. What is the state of your house? Apartment? Bedroom? Office? Unopened mail, unwashed clothes, unread books, dried out pens, betamax tapes (?!!!) memorabilia from the 70s and 80s that are so decrepit in appearance that they wouldn’t be displayed on Ebay. Wasted space is wasted energy. How you live is a reflection of how you are. Think of your body like your bedroom, how much clutter will it take in your inner interior design for you to finally do something about it? Let’s get started:

Have nothing around you that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful. There exists a metaphysical law saying that if we desire more abundance in our lives we must create space for it. How can more good come into our lives if there is no room to accommodate it?

Start to give. What may no longer be useful and beautiful to someone may be a treasure found to another. Look at your closets, bathroom counter, library, drawers, gadgets, music and video collection. Is it possible that these things you no longer need or desire could be more beneficial to and/or serve others? Even when you’re cleaning and clearing out remember not to make a mess of things.
Some rules: (applicable to public officials too)
If you take it out, put it back
If you open it, close it
If you throw it down, pick it up
If you take it off, hang it up.
If you really don’t need it give it to someone who does.

Move 27 objects. (Huh?) Literally, PICK UP and MOVE 27 objects in your home that have not been moved in over a year. No one is going to mind if the left bedside lamp is now on the right, move the books you still love from the lower shelf to the upper shelf. Arrange a series of picture frames in a different way. Maybe the dining room table would look better if it faced a window, those knick knacks, touristy souvenirs could use a reshuffle… (oh my God the Christmas lights are still up?!!!!) So what’s happening now? Are you perhaps getting more creative? Maybe a little more imaginative? (how the hell am I going to explain this to my mom?) What is certainly happening during this process is that you are doing something DIFFERENT 27 times and all of a sudden you just start to FLOW.

When you move things around energy transforms from potential to kinetic. Your mind expands, you break your routine and you allow the vital universal life energy to swirl inside and around you. True creation is based on intuition and not on manipulation. I will be bold enough to say that when this is done in the spirit of fun and lightness you will actually start to FEEL the positive energy released throughout your surroundings. The added bonus in doing this makeshift spring cleaning is that you may stumble upon something you once thought was lost, or forgotten. YOU. (cue: voluminous, orchestral background music.)

Feel the force. Ready are you?
Do or do not, there is no try.