Go With The Flow Fernando

 Fernando's Sexy and He Knows It

My life is new. New, in that now I am no longer a student. I am also no longer the mother of preschoolers. I was nervous to see how everything would transpire once I had finished my thesis, Pippi entered kindergarten and I was ready to focus on the next step of my career. The most wonderful thing that has transpired is that I feel as though I am on a moving fluid career path and I follow along where the road leads.
In the past, this freedom might have frightened me. I wanted more stability. I suppose because I was young and wanted the security of a decent nest for my babies. But I am OK with this freelance career--doing what works in the moment. It fuels the adventure-junkie side of me in a way I never expected. It seems I plot my career in segments of about six months. I focus on tasks to achieve in this time period, reevaluate and begin a new segment. Such is the life as a writer/artist.
What has helped me immeasurably with being able to focus and be happy in this new fluid career (writing, teaching, painting--doing what works in the moment and leads to an income and work satisfaction) are three simple things. Three things that bring metta (Metta means happiness in Pali--an ancient Indian language spoken by The Buddha).

#1 Evening meditations (yes, every night unless I am beyond knackered!) at home, alone, in front of my fireplace.
#2 Community meditation. Whether my schedule allows me to meet once a week or once a month, simply having the outside spiritual community gives me peace, connectedness.
#3 Following my schedule. I write a weekly schedule of all I want to accomplish each and every day. It is not overwhelming. It is a balanced life schedule that gives me the time to dabble in all pursuits: career, home up keep, personal fitness and health. It seems silly, but honestly, I often quit following my schedule religiously, believing it is only a schedule. But when I do this, mindfulness slips way. It is the simplest way I have ever discovered to keep one mindful and thus metta. Just stick to the schedule, don't doubt the power of following simple daily rituals religiously.

I hope these three tips for mindfulness and metta help someone, anyone, out there feel the freedom of enjoying a fluid, evolving life without fear and doubt. Because for those of us who don't have a 9-5 institutional job to cement us, we need to let go and go with the flow...