Heart Pocket Word for the Day is Process!

The word from my heart pocket is PROCESS!

If we were to go about our days willy-nilly, with no process, would there be satisfaction? I raise the question and ask you to help me process thoughts around it. When we process, we work through from one end of a challenge or project, consciously or un, to a stopping place. Like every story, the life of a project has a beginning, a middle and an end. All of those tiny steps, those precious details along the way, is what brings nuance and joy and learning to the challenge or project. No matter what the project - especially if it is our own life - when we begin to notice the hows, the whats, the whos, the wheres and the whys, our story is deeper and wider than when there is no awareness of processing at all.

Process is a vehicle and we get to choose what model and make. We get to drive our vehicle and go fast or slow, cautiously or wildly with complete abandon. Processes can change as we grow. They can also stay the same and the works of art look the same, day after day. That might be enough. It might grow old and stale. 

Who we are and how/what/where and why we process, affects the quality of our lives. The small pictures along our way are our challenges and our projects. The big picture is a collage of those smaller ones and we call it "My Life". The process of living works exactly the same process as the little things we choose each day. When we make a commitment to excellence in the little things, we choose to create an excellent life.

I am talking about true success. It might be about money for some. It could mean fame for others. Family is a process with which we are all familiar. When we work for an end result, the process includes all the things we think are important to making the result happen. If we focus on the result to the exclusion of everything else, we are likely to achieve the result more quickly because our process is streamlined and geared toward one thing only. For some people, this is satisfying. For some people, it is enough. For some, it is everything. When our vision is clear, we process in this focused manner. What if your vision isn't about one thing? What if you like variety? What if the idea of excluding anything - let alone everything - feels myopic and rigid and empty? The journey will be very different from that of one who chooses to focus on one thing, and we still process to reach our destination.

There is no one way. There is no right or wrong. To those who choose one thing, it might seem frivolous to dally along the way. To those who choose all things, it might seem that we will miss something important, something beautiful. To those who choose one thing, the beauty is the thing. To those who choose many goals, the delight comes from having all of those choices available. 

In any case, however we process our works of art - our lives - when it feels empty or confusing, examine the process. Is there a need for more connection with people? Do we need to relax and get out of our intellect? Is there a need to stop and organize so we can feel where we are, to see where we're going? A process is a map. To process is to follow that map. Some of us have lists. Some of us read our way, following a path already taken, stopping here and there to enjoy the view, to share what others have discovered. Others have intuitive maps, working from a basecamp, exploring new paths, finding the way their way ...

Process. It is thinking and doing and feeling and choosing. We can over-process and get lost in the process. We can no-process and wander about feeling scattered and confused. Process likes choice. Process like decision. It loves movement - whether toward one focused goal or toward many different goals. Process is exploring and exciting and determined and process shapes and reshapes itself to fit our needs. We are in charge of process. Nurture and love yours. Lift it up, let it rest, feed it, be kind to it. Let your process take the lead sometimes. Observe it and guide it, then let it go! 

(Many of you have wanted to comment. Blogger tells me they have fixed this issue. If you have the time, please comment below to test the process!)