Word of the Month — August (INTENTION)

Intention. It’s a word with multiple meanings, and it’s one that can inspire a bit of guilt, too. “It wasn’t my intention, but…” is a phrase uttered by everyone at some point. Life happens, and many things don’t go as planned. Embracing improv as an important life skill brings peace of mind and perspective.

And yet. Sometimes we bring the guilt of missed opportunities and missed connections on ourselves through overscheduling, overthinking, and overworking. Maybe what we need is a radical reduction of ambition, a purposeful desire to do less, but with more focus, more love, more attention; more, yes, intention.

In what ways would doing less with more focus change our lives?

What if ― rather than scheduling ourselves down to 5-minute increments ― we plan to accomplish just a few, truly important things each day? What if some of those things are quiet and unseen, but influential to our souls and relationships? What if our focus deliberately becomes less global, but more specific to those we love and influence directly? What if we pay true attention to individual people, close-to-our-heart pursuits, and the satisfaction of creating goodness right here, right now, where we are?

Such a life is unlikely to make the news. The victories are too intangible, too cosmic to tell a compelling “story at 10pm”. That’s precisely why such a life makes such a difference.

Intentionally living small is really living large. It depends on how you love, and where you choose to focus your energy and attention. It brings about what’s true, what’s dependable, what’s beautiful, what’s honest. It creates healing and hope.

Intention is the only road to home.