A Journey Within

Transformative Reflections of the Last Two Years

It's been almost two years since I began these weekly writings. When I started, I wasn't in a good place. I recall thinking I needed a better rhythm, more reprieve, and less chaos within and around me.

Here are some of my initial words from my first post:

If you are like me, the last decade has been exhausting. I feel as though I have been afloat on a rickety raft of loosely bound driftwood with towering ocean waves crashing down on me from all sides, day after day, with no reprieve. It's difficult to see calm or trust that there are still waters beyond the tempest when all you can do is hold tight to avoid being swallowed by the storm.

If we're honest about our situation in a less metaphorical way, we feel as if we don't have control over the daily chaos we find ourselves in. The chaos without very quickly becomes the chaos within. We carry on assuming that if we could tame or control what surrounds us, life would be more peaceful and fulfilling.

But what if we've had it exactly backward?

What if, rather than trying to impossibly curate an external lived experience to make us feel better or more alive, we begin this journey from a place where we have much greater control: from within ourselves?

We each have a deep longing for more—more peace, more presence, more freedom, more joy. Even if we don't admit it to others, deep inside, we want more. But very few have told us how to cultivate that kind of interior experience. We amble aimlessly on the edges and contours of life, not knowing how to go deeper. Yet, despite our circumstances, our lived experiences, our environments, and ourselves, deep still calls out to deep.

I have to admit that without this type of disciplined intentionality over the last two years, I would be in a much different place today. If I hadn't started taking walks and listening to my breath, solely focusing on each step. If I hadn't begun putting down the phone to embrace boredom and notice the "throwaway" moments. If I hadn't started picking up trash around Columbus, attempting to do something generative. If I hadn't gone outside to meditate on the beauty around me. If I hadn't started being intentional in expressing appreciation to those around me and acknowledging their significance in my life. If I hadn’t spent time reflecting on my past mistakes and offering myself forgiveness and receiving the forgiveness of God. If I hadn't started immersing myself in frigid water each morning, giving thanks for all that is good in my life. If I hadn’t left my mindless existence to find a better rhythm, I would be in a much different place today. Yet, one choice, one disciplined habit, leads to the next, and over time, transformation slowly occurs.

These weekly posts have served as journal entries of change. Each week, I've asked you questions about how you might initiate that change in your life as well. So here is your question this week.

Question

As you reflect over the last year or two, what small, positive changes have you made, and how can you honor or celebrate these steps towards personal growth and fulfillment?

Peace,

Brandon