I want to unfold. I don’t want to stay folded anymore, because where I am folded, there I am a lie.*
(Rainer Maria Rilke)

Capacity is a function of one’s ability to expend and recover energy.**
(Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz)

We simply do not know the limits of our capacity for life. As Joseph Campbell points out, there’s a good reason for exploring our lives to their limits, whatever they be:

We save the world by being alive.^

We unfold and extend our capacity through rituals of expending and recovering energy – I’ll come back to this. Seth Godin makes me think some more about rituals when he writes about the power of the stories we tell ourselves:

The last time we took action on an idea, extended ourselves for a friend, and perhaps encouraged ourselves to launch a new project–these happened because the story worked.^^

When we create a ritual we are shaping a story of how we want things to be rather than how they are. Rituals are not the main story but smaller stories that help us get to where we want to be. A ritual of going to the gym is a story about wanting to be fitter, a ritual of reading may grow our emotional awareness, a ritual of study will increase our knowledge, and a ritual of reflection means we can more readily connect our inner and outer worlds.

Seeing rituals as stories means we can have some fun with them – hard work but we can be very creative; Godin continues:

And it’s possible to tell a better story.^^

These little stories act like yeast in our lives, expanding who we are:

To build capacity, we must push beyond our normal limits […].**

To do this in a wholesome or holistic way, we must notice how our capacity has physical, emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions.*^ When each of these are being developed then we are able to free ourselves from damaging linearity into healthy oscillation – the name Loehr and Schwartz give to expending and recovery.^* The pair warn that we often under-expend our physical and spiritual dimensions while over-expending our emotional and mental – linearity in one dimension affects all dimensions.

We know that we never arrive at a once-and-for-all state for any of these dimensions. Each day brings new challenges that can push us into over- or under-expending. Our rituals, though, prepare us for this and also help us to notice and respond more quickly when something threatens.

Why not take a few minutes and create an overview of your rituals for developing physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually? Don’t make it heavy. Playfulness and kindness are key to this. Where you’re lacking, explore new possibilities (incrementally); where you’re stale, add some freshness.

(*Rainer Maria Rilke, quoted in Anne Lamott’s Hallelujah Anyway.)
(**From Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz’s The Power of Full Engagement.)
(^Joseph Campbell, quoted in Keri Smith’s The Wander Society.)
(^^From Seth Godin’s blog: What’s your story?)
(*^Loehr and Schwartz attribute different characteristics to the four dimensions of capacity: physical energy contributes quantity; emotional, quality; mental, focus; and spiritual, force.)
(^*After allowing yeast to increase the capacity of the dough, it needs to be kneeded, before setting off again.)

Every time we participate in a ritual, we are expressing our beliefs, either verbally or more implicity.*
(Evan Imber-Black)

the world within you will create the world around you**
(Erwin McManus)

I have a problem when I go for a walk, especially walks in nature.

I’ve just been out for one and there was my problem again.

I keep stopping to look and try to take everything in …

The view across to Craigmillar Castle lit by the morning sun and across into the city of Edinburgh …

A little later I stop to take in the view across the Forth into Fife …

Then it was the playing in flight of several House Martins …

After that it was the reddening seed-heads of the tall Cow Parsley that were rattling in the breeze…

A few steps more and I stopped to feel the breeze on my skin and smell the scents of the flowers …

Then it was to take a picture of the path in front of me …

A couple of days ago I was walking the same area with my wife Christine when I stopped to take in all of these things, only to turn around and find her smiling at me because I was doing it again.

This morning, I happened upon these words from M. C. Richards and it felt she was speaking truth to me:

The child takes in his world as if it were food. And his world nourishes or starves him. Nothing escapes his thirst. Secrets are impossible. He identifies with his surroundings, and they live with him unconsciously […].^

Perhaps I am rediscovering this, to connect with my child that dwells within me, opening a deeper way of seeing and being:

What we do with our attention, in short, is at the heart of what makes us human.^^

Every person’s attention is different, and yet, they are all connected.

The temptation is to notice what others are noticing, but we first need to notice what we are noticing.

Then we need to create rituals for noticing: walks, reading, photography, art, journaling, music, stillness … :

Rituals serve as tools through which we effectively manage energy in the service of whatever mission we are on.*^

These personal rituals should not be too confining or too loose for us. We want them not only to help us notice more in our familiar worlds but also to lead us into unfamiliar ones without becoming stale or too diffuse.

Beginning with something simple and allowing it to grow is a far better way to create a ritual; it also allows playfulness to be present from the beginning. Feeling the fun in creating meaningful rituals for ourselves is important.

So what you do you notice you’re noticing ?
When you’re in this place are you able to connect to the child in you, full of curiosity and awe?
If you haven’t already got a ritual for helping you notice more, what first thing could you do: where is the best place to be, when is the best time, what are the best and most enjoyable practices to employ?

I miss so much so I am still creating my rituals for noticing. I think it takes a lifetime, but that’s okay. Every day is an opportunity for adventure through the rituals we shape.

(*Evan Imber-Black, quoted in Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz’s The Power of Full Engagement.)
(**From Erwin McManus’ The Way of the Warrior.)
(^From M.. Richards’ Centering.)
(^^From Rob Walker’s The Art of Noticing.)
(*^From Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz’s The Power of Full Engagement.)

Whenever I feel like I’m not moving fast enough, I remember that hill and that I arrived one way or another. If you’re feeling like you’re not moving fast enough today, feel free to borrow my hill if it helps you to keep moving.*
(Bernadette Jiwa)

Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing.**
(Jesus of Nazareth)

Bernadette Jiwa remembers cycling home at the end of the day in her first job:

When I got my first job, I cycled to work and back every day. On a fine summer day in Dublin, cycling is a joy, it’s a different story in winter. The worst part was always that last hill on the way home. I’d try to stay on the bike for as long as possible, not wanting the gradient to beat me. But when the frost was thick and the road slick with ice, there was nothing for it but to get off and walk up the hill alongside the bike.*

The story of being defeated by the ice on a hill at the end of a winter’s day held a most important truth for her, though:

As my progress up the hill slowed, I’d curse the wasted momentum, calculating how much earlier I would have arrived if I’d managed to stay on the bike. And yet, I still got home anyway. Maybe a few minutes later, with a bit less patience, I reached my destination all the same.*

Through life, we gather our stories, personal parables, made up of pictures and words that hold much significance for us, and working through our lives afresh each time we remember them, enabling us to be the person we want to be, rather than be distracted by the things that might otherwise consume us and spit us out.

If you haven’t gathered your personal parables, it may be worth capturing them in some journaling and reflecting upon them.

(*From Bernadette Jiwa’s The Story of Telling: One Way or Another.)
(**Matthew 13:34)

To stay eager, to connect, to find interest in the everyday, to notice what everybody else overlooks – these are vital skills and noble goals.*
(Rob Walker)

We may hold generosity as a value, but the virtue is behaving generously.**
(Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz)

I look more than I see,
Hear more than I listen,
Believe more than I behave;
Half-asleep, I am trying
To wake up.

(*From Rob Walker’s The Art of Noticing.)
(**From Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz’s The Power of Full Engagement.)

Pay attention to what you pay attention to. That’s pretty much all the info u need.*
(Amy Krouse Rosenthal)

The next step in defining purpose is to create a vision for how we intend to invest our energy.**

Slow down for long enough to notice what you’re noticing and you will give yourself the best chance of beginning to dream.

Then take the smallest iteration of this and do it.

It’s about getting out of the way of what your life is wanting to do.

I wish I knew this sooner but I’m glad I know it now.

(*Amy Krouse Rosenthal, quoted in Rob Walker’s The Art of Noticing.)
(**From Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz’s The Power of Full Engagement.)

This is how the world works: first we tell ourselves a story then we dream our way inside it as a way of bringing it to life. It’s why we have to be careful about the narratives we evoke or create, because they are bound by (or bind) the limits of what we can imagine, the limits of our ability to think.*
(David Ulin)

(*From David Ulin’s The Lost Art of Reading.)

Spiritual energy is sustained by balancing a commitment to others with adequate self-care.*
(Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz)

mortals must do what they are here to create or they will become cranky**
(Seth Godin)

To be the light requires that we shine and replenish. It’s a both/and. On then hand:

You can’t keep giving without taking in: Fundamentally, spiritual energy is a powerful source of our motivation, perseverance and direction.*

But you can’t go to the source of your light and keep it to yourself.

One of the discoveries Viktor Frankl made and shared in the Nazi work- and death-camps was to live for something bigger than ourselves:

What was needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach the despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.^

Whilst our values, talents and energies are important sources, so too are the disciplines of humility, gratitude and faithfulness. Put simply, to grow stronger in who we are, be aware of and open to all we have in our lives and seek ways to put these into action in small ways that repeat and evolve.

When we get this right, the hope is there’ll be more and more light and less darkness in the world.

(*From Jim Loehr and and Tony Schwartz’s The Power of Full Engagement.)
(**From Seth Godin’s Tales of the Revolution.)
(^Viktor Frankl, quoted in Jim Loehr and and Tony Schwartz’s The Power of Full Engagement.)

The act of questioning basic assumptions can be the first step toward reinvention and meaningful change.*
(Warren Berger)

We need people to question the way things are. Stupid questions reframe how we see something and, therefore, how we can solve it.

(*From Warren Berger’s Glimmer.)

Sawubona, a Zulu term, means, “I see you.” Not just your face, of course, but your hopes, your dreams, where you came from and where you’re going. It’s not something we’re good at, and I need to do it better.*
(Seth Godin)

We cannot see in this way in a hurry.

Perhaps we cannot do it from where we are now and we need to move.

We cannot be distracted and do this, we need to be present.

Neither will we be able to see if we bring our preconceptions and judgements, be they about roles or cultures or from the confines of past experiences.

Beyond our individual and collective achievements, to truly see each other will be our greatest.

(*From Seth Godin’s blog: Are we part of us?)

Today truly is a wide-open frontier. We are all becoming. It is the best time ever in human history to begin. You are not late.*
(Kevin Kelly)

Keep your eyes open for exceptions to the rules. They are always interesting.

Perhaps it’s the new data that won’t fit with what we know, or the needs of the individual who’s going to change things for everyone, or the future that is wanting to emerge, the exception may be something wanting to begin.

(*From Kevin Kelly’s The Inevitable.)