When everything changes, it will change in an instant.
When things in my life felt a little rough, I'd repeat this mantra to myself. Walking home, before I went to bed, in the shower.... I didn't really know what I meant by saying it, but I felt I needed the comfort of this pattern of words rolling off my tongue. I needed a sign that everything was going to work out alright in the end. I needed at least some sort of control over my future, and these words – for whatever reason – felt like they had that kind of power. Ever knock on wood?
And then there are the symbols. The 'signs.' I've looked for them too. In the two weeks prior to a month long trip I'd been planning to Toronto, two lady bugs landed on me. One on a bus ride home, and one as I was walking up Main street after an unusually stressful day.
I know it sounds a little silly, but I was curious. Aren't ladybugs some sort of omen of good luck? I found quite a few websites which patronizingly explained why this omen was 'bull', but I also found a lot of websites that said the opposite. The more spiritually inclined websites wrote about how a ladybug landing in your life was a sign of protection from the universe, granted to assure you of your safety as you worked towards your dreams.
I liked the sound of that.
Then, numerology came up during coffee with a friend. He told me that he kept tabs on reappearing sequences of numbers in his life. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home, and I looked at my receipt. $21.34 it said. Do these numbers mean anything?I asked my friend.
That's a 1,2,3,4 sequence he told me. He said that it didn't matter if they were in the right order, so long as they all appeared together. So when I got home I looked up 1234 in numerology, and found out it had to do with life changes, and again some sort of protection.
I know, I know! It all sounds really silly. But do you know what is equally silly: Growth! The process of moving forward in time. Change. I'm using the word 'silly' because how growth occurs is so nonsensical. We're constantly (hopefully) acquiring new skills, forming or growing relationships, taking risks in our careers and personal lives. There is not one of us who has any idea how time spent could possibly amount to anything, but we spend it in that way because we have a belief about what the future will hold if we live our lives in the 'right' way.
So with growth and change blindly beckoning us forward, I think we need words and images to keep us grounded; keep us feeling like we're making the right decisions and that, yes, everything will turn out all right in the end.
Which brings me to intentions. This is the first post of three where I'm going to be exploring what it actually means to set an intention, and what an intention even is!
About a year ago I heard some authors talk about the process of writing a book at the Vancouver Writer's Fest. One of the writers shared that writing a novel was an interesting experience, because the person you are when you start writing the novel is a different person than the one you are when you've finished.
I think the same is true when it comes to intention setting. The person you are when you decide to set the intention is a different person than the one you are when you've fully embraced living with that intention at the forefront. So how do you get from point A to point B? Well, that's the mystery isn't it!
But my guess is that it has something to do with trust, a lot to do with belief, and even more to do with closing your eyes... and listening.
In my next post I will be looking more at that process.
Christine is an actor, writer, and blogger originally from the Maritimes and now living in Vancouver, BC. In her blog The Positivity Project she explores the human side to growth (the part that has nothing to do with following a list). She also shares interviews and stories by creatives in her artist mastermind: Creative Life Blog. You can follow her on Instagram @ChristineMarthe or on Twitter @CMBissonnette.
