"The
strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home." Confucius
Every
day we go into the world to create and make our
way, be it to a job or a business. We enter
each day
with the attitude of accomplishment and achievement.
However,
for most people, during the day we meet some
sort of obstacles or roadblocks. It could be a
customer
who changes the scope of the project that you
just completed the night
before, the bank who needs
just one
more piece of information to complete
the loan
you needed yesterday or the guy who cut us off in
traffic, caused us
to run off the road and miss the
most important business meeting of our
career. We
rise to the occasion
as each monster rears its ugly
head. Each time, we expend just a little bit more of
our energy that we had planned to use on another
objective. By
the end of the day we are usually one,
two or even three steps behind where we wanted to be,
worn out
and ready to retreat to a place where we have
peace and serenity.
"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well
as the body."
Margaret fuller
This
although different,
holds true for our children.
They encounter just
as much stress, be it their
worlds as we adults do. They are stressed by peer
pressure to act and be different than they are taught
at home and by television and the media to
become something that they are not. These stresses can
be overwhelming and
we
are all looking for a place
where
we can escape from these pressures.
If everyday was like the one described above and you were not able to
rebuild your energy, you would begin to find yourself running on reserves,
feeling exhausted, like you can never get ahead of the game. Running on reserves can work for a while if you are still in
your 20’s and maybe even your 30’s but eventually your reserves can be
depleted and you are as the song goes "running on empty". The stresses of each day are piled upon the stresses of the day
before and the day before that, until you no longer have the patience and
tolerance to deal with seemingly insignificant issues as they arise. These
stresses also can make us feel less then capable, which makes dealing with
situations even more difficult. This
level of stress, when not dealt with, can impact your performance
at work and your ability to nurture and grow interpersonal relationships,
leaving you feeling like you are in a rut with no way out.
If your energy levels are at their peak you have a greater chance of
successfully creating new opportunities and dealing with the day-to-day
experiences and pressures. You
have the ability to clearly see and deal with each issue as it is and not
through the filter of stress, frustration and feeling less than. This
clarity when added to peak performance can assist you in achieving what ever
you desire. We all have had
those rare days when everything came together, when you were in the right
place at the right time, when the answer to all of your bosses questions
were on the tip of your tongue. Some call this synchronicity or coincidence. But how does this happen? How can we create this on a daily basis?
To achieve this level of clarity and performance
you must have
an environment
away from the demands and
chaos of the everyday world, where you
can go to
rejuvenate, rebuild your energy and find clarity. Many
people think
that they can find this state of being on
a vacation in Hawaii or some
place similar. But,
usually this state of being is only temporary.
This level of being that you seek must be nurtured on
a
daily basis in an environment
without stress, tension
and conflict. A successful environment
for nurturing
your level of clarity, and performance will be calming,
uplifting and healing. For
most the physical and
interpersonal environments
of your home will be this
place.
The balance and harmony in your home is a critical
factor in dealing
with these stresses and are important
for your success and happiness. When a
home feels
calming and nurturing, with no distractions, you can
quiet the
mind and sort out what is important and what
is not. You can create new ideas on how to proceed and
how to handle
obstacles. You can start to see
clearly
what actions need to be taken. When life is full of
complications it is often hard to distinguish
the
forest from the trees. If
you have clarity, you can
sort out all of the issues and deal with them one
at
time, making clear decisions on each issue instead of
complicating each
issue with other issues. This
type
of clarity will also give you the ability to see
solutions that you
could not see before. This
clarity
will also assist you in nurturing your interpersonal
relationships that are necessary for a full and
complete life.
Unfortunately because of the pressures of society to achieve at all
costs, today, some houses have become purely investments and places to
impress clients, customers and friends. These houses have been designed
strictly for the purpose of business and profit and that is the master that
they serve. In these situations the home is completely ignored, leaving no
refuge for the soul to rejuvenate. Notice
the usage of the words house and home. A house is just a physical structure, where a home is a physical
structure that has been created for the purpose of nurturing the soul. Ironically, if the house were used for the purpose of nurturing and
healing the soul, success in the outside world would come much easier. In
today’s fast pace world it is even more important to create homes instead
of houses. Homes designed for
business, investment and to keep up with the Jones’s, also ignore family
identity and intimacy. This
loss of family identity undermines the stability of the family and the role
models set for children. The
loss of intimacy starts to breakdown communication and the core of family
relationships. These problems
just add to the stress level in the home, complicating our lives.
If we are to be successful in life we must start to address the
environment where our ability to succeed is created. As many psychologists have said and most people would agree, we are products of our
environment. But what parts of that environment shape us? How is it that
some children who come from the worst of neighborhoods are able to rise
above the circumstances of their external environment of crime and poverty?
How is it that some children who come from homes that are in the best of
neighborhoods and have ideal external environments end up with drug or
alcohol problems? Are the
external factors in our environment like the city that we live in or the
size of the home the factors that shape us? No, it has to do with the internal environment we live in. That child rises out of the ghetto because somewhere he/she received
a nurturing environment that allowed them to rise above the circumstances.
It is the internal environment we live in that plays an integral part
in creating the external aspects of our lives. If your internal environment is one of balance and harmony, a space
that is nurturing, where you feel safe, secure and at peace, you can let go
of the days challenges and come back to your source of power. Then you can start each new day refreshed and rejuvenated.
Now,
what I have told you is really powerful. This is one of the most
powerful things you can do to create harmony and prosperity in your life.
What I am about to tell
you is even more powerful. Let me tell you how to do it. Click below to find
out how....
