Out of Alignment

Apr 28, 2016

Last year my website got an update. In the process, I considered what is necessary to positively Design Your Destiny. My answers came in the form of three words which I added as a tagline. Align. Act. Transform.

Fast forward to today. I am in the process of conditioning for a trip to the Andes Mountains, consciously adding more miles to my daily walks and consistently hiking more hills. Align. I have aligned with what I want-- to be in good condition for hikes at high altitude. Check. Act. I have acted on it by committing to 6 days per week of walks up from 45 minutes to 2 hours. Check. However, there’s just one catch—my body. An old hip injury has come back to haunt me. My back too is reminding me these days how absolutely essential proper alignment is. It’s letting me know through stiffness and mild pain that I’m not always so diligent nor consistent about warm up and cool down stretching.

The lesson here? It’s a great metaphor for how “painful” the journey may be when we are out of alignment. I wince to recall some of the times I’ve acted contrary to personal values. Ouch. Or to let suffocating, outdated beliefs snuff out a fire of purposeful passion. Ouch.

What does it really mean to align? Then to act? Stay tuned. Transformation ahead.