Honey

I’m writing this from my iPhone, so I can’t link to Barney’s blog when I tell you about how Barney had a deep, philosophical thought today. Perhaps having deep, philosophical thoughts are contagious through the iPhone, since he started using one yesterday, and I just had a deep, philosophical thought of my own.

What was Barney’s thought, you might wonder. Well, perhaps he’ll post about it on the blog I can’t link to, but probably not. I can tell you that it had something to do with beer, reality, and of course, the iPhone. What else would a new owner of this miraculous little device be thinking about?

As with most of my thoughtful thoughts, I have connected two dots, or two experiences in my brain, and I wonder how a successful experiment can be extended. Usually I think, how can this new piece of information add to my quality of life?

It all begins on rollerskates.

I’m not a very good rollerskater. I don’t look very cool, and I certainly don’t have any fancy moves. This is in stark contrast to Agent, who skates like an angel, smoothly weaving in and out of unpredictable bands of people, skating forwards then backwards then forwards again. Even after years of going skating with Agent, I’m typically going slower than everyone else, my butt sticking out for balance, my arms windmilling, and my body tense and rigid.

Agent tries to help me have more fun by loosening up. “Bend your knees”, she says encouragingly. The main reason I’m so tense is because I get really nervous when I do happen to be going faster than other skaters and I can’t seem to see a way around them. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve run into, and I just feel terrible about it.

Agent’s been offering some new advice lately that seems to be helping me out a great deal. She says, if you look ahead to a spot you want to get to, you’re likely to reach that spot with little trouble. And I’ll be darned, this little piece of advice actually works! I just focus on a place on the floor I’m aiming at, and usually I’m able to get there without running into anyone and more importantly, I get there without stressing out about it.

I started using this technique on my bicycle today. I’ve never been very good at turning corners and leaning into the curve, but as soon as I applied Agent’s advice and looked at the spot I wanted to get to, it’s as though my body let go, and I was able to naturally and easily meet my own expectations.

Once I see something like this apply to at least two different scenarios in my life, I quickly attempt to align the idea with my personal philosophy. The idea I’m having actually might feel a little familiar, especially if you’ve watched or read The Secret.

Oh, you haven’t seen The Secret? Do it now! Seriously. I’d provide a link, but…

Anyway, I’m gonna get all life skills on you for a minute. The idea of looking ahead and trusting that you’ll arrive can easily be applied to all sorts of personal goals. Once you acknowledge your intention and express trust in the desired outcome, a funny thing happens. It’s almost as though something else gets to work on it for you. Perhaps your own intuition gets involved or maybe the universe is harnessed to your will. I think mostly, you allow something to happen, rather than forcing it.

So the idea is to identify the intention and then to let it go. No matter what, it’s a much less stressful way to get there.