Direction

How do you map the direction of your day? Is your day mapped for you by a job, relationships or need? Do you feel directed by your day or do you have a constant internal compass? 

I have learned to use intentional routines as basic milestones along the way of my life. These routines, based primarily in health maintenance, supersede any other external influence on my day. By eating well, hydrating my body adequately and getting proper exercise, as examples, I am making sure that any direction I choose will be less arduous. Adequate sleep, avoidance of intoxicants, and daily meditation are also essential for me to be able to maintain my stamina as I choose my daily path. 

I remember the times in my life when I allowed the tides of circumstance to throw me around on a sea of uncertainty and ill health. Moderation wasn't even a concept in my mind at that time of my life. It was an exhilarating roller coaster ride, I will admit, but it did not leave me feeling very happy when the cloud of stimulus and reaction to stimulus cleared. 

My understanding of practice came when I began practicing moderation. I became intimately acquainted with my demons by simply moderating my activity and appetites. I realized my demons were running me. Obsession, compulsion and neurotic fear were the masters of my days. I wasn't walking ahead. I was walking in circles.

My own methods for breaking the endless loop of living on automatic are the elements of my personal practice. In my case, these methods are tempered by humanist consciousness. In other lives, personal practice can be tempered by religion, fame or hedonism, to name a few possibilities. However, I have encountered few people in my life who have a conscious practice which determines their daily direction.