TRUE PRIORITIES

I will begin always with my end in mind , so that I may continually evaluate what the TRUE PRIORITIES are in MY life, taking care not to be a second hander or a people pleaser.
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I woke up this morning! I consider this to be an excellent turn of events for which I am very grateful.

Recently, I've been doing a lot of thinking about.... well, how we go about thinking. I realize more and more that the way human beings process information is by categorizing things into patterns. This enables us to assimilate large amounts of information that our brains could not otherwise handle as inidividual facts or units.

Obviously, this is very helpful, otherwise, it would be impossible to deal with the complexity that we are faced with every day, but it also comes with a caveat.

We should remember, imo, that these "patterns" only exist in our brains, and are not "actual" reality. I think that what we do is extrapolate from past patterns and come to expect that the pattern will simply repeat itself indefinitely. After all, that is our only point of reference, thus far.

A turkey on a farm would have a pattern that told it that the farmer is his friend. Every day the farmer feeds and shelters him, until one day, the farmer walks into the barn with an axe....

Every day of our lives, we've woken up. And, if you haven't yet been diagnosed with a serious illness or had a major accident, every day of your life, you've woken up in decent health. This pattern leads us to complacency, expecting subconsciously that it will always repeat itself. I say subconsciously, because intellectually every one knows that it will not be eternally true, but our "pattern" of reference, is what our experience has always been so that is what "feels real" to us. That's why when someone dies suddenly, loses a loved one, is diagnosed with a major illness, or has a serious accident, it is often described as a "shocking" event.

However, if you look at reality properly, it really shouldn't be shocking at all, because it happens every day.... (just not to us)

Knowing that all our lives will have major challenges, and of course, ultimately an end, the timing of which none of us can predict, can and should give you an entirely different perspective on what your TRUE PRIORITIES really are!

I don't like the expression, "live every day as though it were your last", because I wouldn't go to work that day for one thing.... I would prefer, "cherish every day as though it might be your last" and don't waste it on things that don't really matter, especially don't waste it worrying about little things that don't matter.... if you can keep proper perspective on what your own TRUE PRIORITIES are (each of us has to do their own work to determine what those are)you will be in "alignment" with reality. Just like every other example of alignment, it optimizes your effectiveness, your energy etc and will make you a much happier person!

It may at first be daunting to leave the comfortable denial pattern that we've cultivated, to think about all the bad things that not only might but will happen to us, but rather than allow reality to depress you, it should give you gratitude for every day these things don't happen, and even gratitude when they do happen for all the years that they didn't, as well as all the opportunities that you still have despite whatever challenges you may face.

Thanks for reading.