It's Groundhog Day: Do You Know Where Your Goals Are?

In the blink of an eye, four months have passed since my last blog entry. A full season--in fact, one-third of a year--has elapsed and all the while my thoughts carried ideas for blogs I had every intention of writing once a month. Yet, here I am without a published blog since last September.

This observation feels even more relevant today, Groundhog Day, also known as Candlemas or Imbolc in other traditions.  In my research on this day, which celebrates the mid-point of winter and heralds the [not soon enough] arrival of spring, I felt most drawn to the concept of purification. On the mundane level, this purification means cleaning the house and clearing out closets, papers, and items we no longer need.   On a deeper level, this purification also applies to all areas of our lives, including relationships, ideas, and habits that no longer serve us.  This purification process clears out a symbolic space so that we have a fertile field to plant the seeds of our dreams, ambitions, and goals for the spring.

This mid-point provides the opportune time to assess where we are on those New Year's goals and resolutions.  It is never to late to set or reset a dream or put an idea in motion.  One enjoyable aspect of coaching is helping people attain their goals and dreams; this process works because clients have created accountability to themselves by stating their goals aloud and checking in regularly on their progress.  In our professional lives we may have plenty of outside forces to  keep us accountable.  For our personal dreams and desires, though, we may have to create a system of accountability to keep us on task.  Otherwise, the months slip by as our dreams are brushed aside.

Myriad methods exist for creating and specifying goals, some of which I have covered in previous blogs.1  Becoming accountable to those goals is the next step.  With any goal, resolution, or dream, it must be  articulated in the present tense, as if it has already been attained.  Create an awareness for yourself by stating it and seeing it everyday. This could take the form of a picture, a few words on a piece of paper, or a mantra. In some small way, bring yourself to the vision every day.

Action empowers the goal.  After setting the intention and the goal with specificity, without action forward, you are in a car without gas. If you have too many items on your list to change, improve, acquire, or achieve, you may end up feeling “stuck” or immobile.  At times like this it helps to make one master list and then prioritize to whittle it down to only two or three focus points.

This mid-point of the season is a call to action.  You can always use an Etch-a-Sketch on those resolutions and begin anew.  Before you know it, four months will have passed, and your seeds of dreams and desires will already be in full bloom!



1 A life coach could assist, too, if the process feels overwhelming or you want to move through the process quicker.

A Monument to Unfinished Business

The Town of St. George's, Bermuda, settled by the Virginia Company in 1612, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it is one of the oldest surviving English settlements in the New World. On Blockade Alley in St. George's, the ruins of the Unfinished Cathedral greet many tourists en route from the ferry terminal to Tobacco Bay. This beautiful shell of a Gothic cathedral was under construction in the 1870s, and an intended replacement of the nearby St. Peter's church; however, unfortunate circumstances in the form of parish politics, financial difficulties, and a damaging storm resulted in the abandonment of the project. What remains today is the grass-carpeted, open-air shell of a monument. The tranquility of the space, accented by the sea breeze and blue sky, creates a unique sacredness.

The church it was to replace, St. Peter's, was constructed at the end of December 1612. Despite many disasters, reconstruction, and renovations, this church and its grounds have bragging rights as the oldest surviving Anglican church in continuous use outside the British Isles. While walking through St. Peter's, the scent of Bermuda cedar and incense instills a different sense of sacredness, imbued with history and craftsmanship.

Upon reflection after visiting these sites, one could easily question why the parishoners wanted to build a new cathedral in the first place,and why they just abandoned the project on the eve of completion. On the other hand, how amazing that something incomplete and rife with an unfortunate history can stand its ground as a beautiful monument 140 years later!

In life, too, we could create metaphorical sacred monuments to our unfinished business. Sometimes we may choose something new or change course, only to realize later we prefer the original with some improvements. Making different choices is part of our path, and we often arrive with gratitude because of our new undertakings. Along the way, the lessons we learn serve us well. So, rather than lament what we left unfinished, we could adopt a perspective that honors the courage we had to try something new. More important than the 'finished business' is our journey of creating business. On this adventurous journey of life, may we all create our own St. Peter's and a few Unfinished Cathedrals as well!

The Bridge

The island of Bermuda boasts the smallest working drawbridge in the world.  A thick wood panel spans a seventeen-inch gap in the bridge that connects Somerset island in Sandy's Parish with the main island of Bermuda.*

 Whenever a yacht or sailboat wishes to pass through, someone must manually draw the bridge so the mast fits through. Although the original stone base of the bridge was built in 1620, much of the original, including the wooden part, was renovated in the twentieth century to the bridge you see in these photos.

Something so small can serve a practical, functional purpose. It does not have to be the biggest or the best to display its unique place in the community and the world.
So, too, with us. We serve our own unique purpose where we are and make a remarkable significant mark, perhaps as a bridge or passage for others.
As Marianne Williamson explains, we must be our "brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous" selves. Our playing small may not serve the world but being small just may be the best way we serve ourselves and the world. ** 
 
In other words, just being you is a remarkable, significant contribution to the world.
 
 


* Despite conflicting internet reports, the sign on the actual bridge states its width as 17 inches.
** Although it is often  attributed only  to Nelson Mandela's inaugural speech in 1994, the famous quote attributes to Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles", Harper Collins, 1992. From Chapter 7, Section 3]).
Photos by Nicole D. Mignone