Intention is everything!

So today, Ethan Nichtern used this memorable phrase to begin his entry at the Interdependence Project. Powerful stuff. I wrote three months ago that I wanted consistency in my writing for this blog, but clearly my intention was not strong enough to bear fruit in action. For me, intention is the seed, the soil, the sun, the water, and the fertilizer. But it can't be all of those things simultaneously. For the alchemy to work, I have to return again and again to my intention so that my desire can be born. The seed won't grow without food, water, and heat, and my attention can bring it all of those things if I commit to returning to it on a regular basis.



And not to beat a dead horse, but here comes the practicing thing again. Calling your mind back to your intention is a prelude to bringing your actions in line with it. You can't align yourself with a stranger, whether that stranger is a new way of eating, a new way of relating, or a new way of responding to situations. So I am called to examine my intention(s), to explore what they will require of me, and to begin the work of preparing myself to fulfill those requirements. Not an easy task, but it begins in that soft, quiet, and dark place where we can admit, "I want more ______ in my life." Not unlike where your favorite tomato plant starts.



Keeping in mind the hard work involved in committing to my intentions, I have to be kind to myself in choosing them. There is no need for a list a mile long. Nothing succeeds like success, so I need to begin with things that feel attainable. Ethan makes the distinction between an intention and an aspiration, and I think it is an important one. Ethan describes aspirations as vectors along which you align your life, with intentions being the priorities that move us along those vectors.

Ethan chooses five priorities or intentions for 2011 in his post, and I am going to do the same. I will say that they are subject to change, though.

1.) I will be more skillful in my speech.
2.) I will be gentler with myself.
3.) I will be gentler with others.
4.) I will gently persist in contemplation and in my practice.
5.) I will treat my body with more care.

So there you have it. I am hoping that 2011 will be a great year for all of us!