They say in meditation, there are two kinds of activities that keep you from being present, dwelling on the past or planning for the future. I definitely have a proclivity for the latter. My mind is always thinking about tomorrow. My journal is filled with action plans. I tend them, rewriting, massaging, focusing, course correcting. I look forward. I even sign my emails, “looking forward.”
I see the future as possibilities, and my possibilities are positive as often I can manage it. My mind dreams up ways to improve things, and when they are important I give it a try. I enjoy imagining what might happen that could be better than what is happening.
That’s why I like to have a special event or two always on the horizon. Right now, as of today, there are two that are occupying my attention:
(1) A special event this October I will be hosing with Jay Timmons and Susan Neely, on how to use a leadership platform as a way of architecting the future for the benefit of society. Jay is CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers and Susan is CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers. But, each is so much more than that. They are servants of the future. They engineer and advocate and coordinate resources to make amazing things happen in our world on multiple fronts, in their personal as well as their professional lives. Look for more on this event in future writings.
(2) My annual father-son trip is coming up later this month. My son, Gabe, and I have been going on these excursions since he was three and this year he is 21. We will be taking our big dog, Sita, up into the northeast. We might even take a walk in the northernmost tip of Maine. On our way, we will go through the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire. I relish these trips because they truly take me off the grid and the company is the best it can be for an extended period of time.
What are you looking forward to? Today is tomorrow’s yesterday – it’s the best time to prepare! Plant the right seeds and you will have an amazing garden before you know it.
“To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wildflower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.”
William Blake
