Tanya McGinnity

My first thought when I opened up my computer this morning…

Where should I begin?

Tackle a few quick tasks and get them out of the way or dig deep into the mucky underbrush of the scraggily to-dos that have clung to my list for far too long. Both methods have their advantages and as a now unemployed project manager, the tasks I assign priority to are no longer related to “providing wire frames to the client for approval” or “follow up on the copy deck”l but now relate to my own personal goal setting and planning. For the longest time, my priorities were not those of my own making.

The title of this post was very appropriate.

“Power On”

It can be taken in so many ways in my life. That I’m discovering a hidden wellspring of power that wasn’t yet accessible to me until now in considering these new possibilities ahead of me. A switch being flicked illuminating a hallway that is a bit scary to walk but may lead me to the most beautiful location I’ve ever known.

A few days ago I received a little ‘ping’ that superstar Gwen Bell was cooking up another exciting project. Towards the end of the year, Gwen launched a super initiative called “The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge” in which she provided prompts for topics for bloggers to write about as a means to stimulate reflection on the previous year and aspire folks to engage in some goal-setting for the new one. It was a great way to bring people together and encourage sharing and community that resulted in 730 people writing about their journey through 2009. I was wowed in discovering new bloggers and delighted in reading the stories that these folks had released into the wild.

So this time around, Gwen hits a bullseye with a post titled “3 Stories of Mindfulness: What we give our attention to is who we become” which introduces her latest project. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to my participation online as I’m doing quite a bit of soul searching around what I’m doing in my life, the footprint I’m leaving behind and the desire to find my life’s passion. All the hokey, mid-life crisis stuff that I thought I’d escape because I had my life all figured out has caught up with me at last.

Gwen’s post hit me because I’m a Buddhist. For so long I’ve kept a public dual identity: the one of the digital, tech-savvy, girl geek organizing, community managing, project managing, strategy-gal and that of the practicing Buddhist. They co-existed in the sense that Buddhism has been ingrained in me for so long and is how I conduct my life – but only until recently have I grown comfortable with linking the two. I feel like I’ve cut off my twin for so long and only now am I seeing that I need to give her a big hug and embrace the big old Buddhist Girl Geek and cultivate a 9-5 that helps me recognize my specific goals to live a positive life- both personally and professionally.

Hangin' with my posse

When I see how Gwen has wholeheartedly and brazenly been able to sync her practice with her livelihood, it gives me so much hope. The Mindfulist project came at a perfect time for me. We Buddhists call it ‘auspicious coincidence’.

The purpose of The Mindfulist is to cultivate awareness. To put yourself in the present moment and break away from getting caught up in all of the bla-bla that usually takes us away from who we really are. It could be negative self-talk. It could be gossip. It could be just losing touch with what’s really important in our lives.

Daily a prompt will be posted on the website in which you’ll be asked to meditate on. Meditate is a loose term in that you shouldn’t be scared that you’ll need to don a white robe and chant for 90 minutes. You can go as simple as just taking a time out to notice what is going on in your mind and body, or you can get some great meditation instruction from this video from Patrick, the Chief Mischief Maker at The Mindfulist.

If you are interested in joining in, please visit The Mindfulist Here you’ll be able to find out more information about how to get involved.