Patience While Building And Growing

Although I had never considered building a home from the ground up, I was given the opportunity to do just that when my home burned to the ground.  There were many intriguing steps and processes that I witnessed during the construction of my new house.  One thing that I recall is the amount of site preparation that took place prior to pouring the foundation on which the house would be built.  I learned that soil compaction is a vital part of the construction process.  I also learned that this is a protracted process that takes time, patience, precision and the watchful eye of geotechnical engineers.

In my case, I watched as giant excavators moved big mouthfuls of soil around and a D-9 caterpillar methodically crawled back and forth over the ground to ensure the proper level of compaction.  During the five months that it took to complete this stage of the construction process, I noticed myself experiencing a range of emotions from impatience to fascination.  I liken it to the seven stages of death and dying; one finally gets acceptance. For me, I finally got to fascination. Once I embraced the fact that there would be a house on what, at the time, appeared to be a big pile of dirt I settled into a state of curiosity, knowing that the next twelve months could be as frustrating or as fascinating as I was willing to let them be.

Build Upon a Strong Foundation

The primary thing that I learned during those five months is how very important the ground work is.  I learned that a house must be built on a rock solid foundation so that it won’t succumb to future stresses and strains.  I learned that it was the foundation that would provide the solid footing for walls and floors and roofs to grow out of.  And in the end, I learned that when people walked into my new home they would admire the handsome interior, the wood floors and the stout beams not once giving consideration to the beauty or duty of the unyielding ground below.

Building a house became a wonderful metaphor for my own life, especially the foundation part.  I want to offer a few thoughts for you to consider to assist you in putting the underpinnings of a life you love in place. The following ten points come right out of my online course, Lines In The Sand.

1.  Be Authentic – Be you,  don’t pretend to be someone you are not.  Show up in the world with the courage and conviction to be yourself regardless of what others might “say” or “think”.
2. View Every Experience as a Gift – This is when you come to know that life doesn’t happen to you, but for you.  Regardless of what life might bring your way you sit in the driver’s seat when it comes to the meaning you choose to give to these events.
3. Quiet Yourself So You Can Hear the Whispers of Destiny – Stop being busy, being busy.  Carve out some quiet time for yourself each day.  I suggest designing a powerful morning routine that will help you to set the tone for your day.  Sit with yourself, my yourself.  This means no cell phones, iPads, TV’s or other distractions.
4. Embrace and Practice Surrender – Surrender gives you great freedom.  Let go of the people, places, and things that do not bring you joy.  Clean up all aspects of your life that are cluttered, this includes your junk drawer(s).
5. Astonish Yourself Every Day – Look for something each day that amazes you.  Don’t get so caught up in your daily life coming and going and doing, instead start being.  This allows you to notice the endless opportunities for astonishment that are vastly available all around you.
6. Do Right, Not Be Right – Become interested and empathetic with yourself and others.  The need to be right is a symptom of the lack of self-esteem or wanting to control or feel superior to others.  The antidote to “being right” is “doing right”.
7. Be Impeccably Fiscally Fit – Get your financial world in order.  The decisions you make regarding money can cause great strife or provide much wholesomeness in your life.
8. Live Graciously – Graciousness or grace-filled-ness is not achievable when you are overscheduled, over committed, and overloaded.  To live graciously you must recognize that “more isn’t always better” and you really do have all that you need.
9. Simply Be, Be Simply – Unleash yourself from the illusions of your ego and connect to your authentic self.  Stop complicating your life and championing chaos.  Start living from the inside out.
10. Leave a Dent – How are you going to live that will contribute to the world in a way that matters?  Leave people, places, and things better than you found them and instead of focusing on what you want from life, consider asking the question, “what does life want from you?”

Consider these ten suggestions the ground work for you to create a life you love.  A life that will withstand the stresses and strains that will come your way.  Remember, you can’t build a super-structure on sand. The stronger your foundation is, the more wonderful a life you can build.

To learn more about these ten Lines In The Sand, click here.

Stay true and be you —

Annie