Choices about the journey . . .

I am sitting here with my cup of green tea, my pumpkin spice candle glowing, and some random thoughts wafting around in my head. I am being mindful that we are on a journey here. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end. We have choices to make along the way that will determine how that journey is going to unfold. Some things will be beyond our power, like the choices others make that impact us or the random acts of life that we need to participate in. I want to be more mindful about the decisions I make from here on out. It's not that I have been a bad person, or a mean person, or a rude person (well, maybe once or twice!), but I guess I am feeling the need to live my life more on purpose. I don't mean more structure and less spontaneity. I don't mean every minute planned, all the days of my calendar filled in with more tasks to be performed. I mean, when given the opportunity of looking at a full day in front of me when I wake up in the morning, I want to see the beauty in my morning routine, noticing the sun shining in the window, the cats purring their good morning, the smell of the coffee brewing, the peace that comes from reading my morning devotional. Acknowledging the gift of time I have been blessed with to create with that room full of art supplies, the baskets of yarn I get to knit and the journals that lay open waiting for more words to be spilled across them. Being present to the people who love me and let me know that I am loved, and actively returning love to them. These are the conscious choices I want to honor within the rest of my journey. These are the things I don't want to be unconscious of as I move through my days.