C.H.O.O.S.E. To Make a Difference - No Matter What

"What is it you plan to do with your wone wild and precious life?" - Mary Oliver

Do you remember, two years ago at this time we didn't know if we'd ever be able to meet in public again? We didn't know if stores and schools would re-open or if we'd be able to return to our workplaces, attend sporting events, and resume our daily activities.

Thankfully, for the most part, we are rebounding from the pandemic.

The thing is, as Pema Chodron says, "Nothing every really goes away until it teaches us what we're supposed to learn."

Hopefully, one of the things we all learned from the past couple years is that life is fragile, precious, not to be taken for granted.

Instead of going back to "life as usual," may we choose to be more mindful, more kindful (if it's not a word, it deserves to be).

May we choose to, as Mary Oliver suggested, make the most of our wild and precious life.

Here are six ways we can C.H.O.O.S.E. to do that every day.

C – CONNECT with someone IN your circle and OUTSIDE your circle every day.

"People lose sight of the fact that community makes the world run." - Questlove

Questlove is right. In the long run, being connected with people with love is wealth in what matters. Reach out to someone you know - and to someone new today. Who's a friend or extended family member you haven't talked with recently? How about a former coworker you bonded with? How about that neighbor who asked if you wanted to go on walk-talks?

H – “HOLD the vision, not the circumstances.” – Mary Morrissey

“Drag your mind away from your troubles … by the ears, by the heels, any way you can manage it.” – Mark Twain

If you’re watching the news and getting stressed and depressed, it’s not helping. Ask, “Can I DO anything about what I'm watching?” If not, it is not a good use of your mind and time.

Drag your mind away from what's wrong in the world and turn your attention to what's right with the world. Watch an episode of CBS Sunday Morning to be inspired by an "intellectual Disneyland" of individuals and events who will lift your spirits and make you "want to be a better man," as Jack Nicholson said in the classic movie, As Good As It Gets.

O – OPT to get off the cactus.

“Life may give you a cactus, you don’t have to sit on it.” – Joyce Meyer

As the lyric in the musical Cabaret says, "What good is sitting alone in your room?" Staying home alone makes it easy to sit on the cactus. Please understand, the White Knight isn’t coming. YOU are the White Knight you've been waiting for. Google "Interesting things to do" in your town and promise yourself you will get outside this weekend and "do the new." There's a wonderful world waiting to be explored right outside your front door.

O – ORGANIZE “rising tide raising all involved” virtual gatherings.

“You have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall

What is something you love to do that you could share with like-minded individuals? Qigong master Chunyi Lin was initially devastated with Covid 19 shut down his brick and mortar business. He decided, as part of his give back, to offer free Facebook lives so people around the world could practice Qigong together. Thousands of people said this was a saving grace during the dark days of the quarantine. How about you? What are you good at - guitar, cooking, dog obedience? Could you teach it online and contribute your skills - for good?

S – SHARE Your Expertise

“The purpose of life is to find your gifts, the meaning is to give them away." - Pablo Picasso

Peter Sterios, CEO of Levity Yoga, is a shining example of how to make a difference gifting our gifts. Peter taught yoga at the White House, and was excited about a three-month national tour for his new book. As you can imagine, that all "went away" due to the quarantine and he was devastated. The wizard Merlin said in the movie Camelot, "When you're sad, learn something."

Instead of just being sad, Peter got innovative and also decided to offer Facebook LIVE yoga programs. Voila. He said, "Sam, this is better than being on the road. I am spending time with my wife and daughter, I'm connecting with people in 60 countries without leaving home, and I'm not exhausted from nonstop travel. Who knew?"

Harry E. Fosdick said, “Teachers affect eternity. Who knows where their influence will end?” Now is the time to teach what you know. Who knows where your influence will lead?

E – Establish Daily Rituals

"I get a little itchy if I don't have some kind of control." - Amy Poehler

Face it. We all get a little itchy if we don't have some control. Longtime friend Dr. Dianne Gerard, a psychologist in Hawaii, knows this. When Hurricane Iniki hit the island of Kauai years ago, officials asked her to help people whose homes and jobs disappeared overnight.

Her first recommendation? “When the world has been turned upside down, you need something you can trust, something to look forward to. When you don't know what to do, do what you know. Establishing daily rituals to have something you can count on - whether it's a bedtime story every night for the kids or writing in your gratitude journal every morning.

Another way to make the most of your wild and precious life - no matter what is happening -is to read this wisdom from Clarissa Pinkola Estes:

"I too have felt despair in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it.

In any dark time, there is a tendency to veer toward fainting over how much is wrong or un-mended in the world

Do not focus on that. Do not make yourself ill with overwhelm.

Let us be a light for each other and not lose heart.

Remember, we were made for these times."

What will you keep a chair for?

How will you C.H.O.O.S.E. to make the most of your day starting today... not someday?