*** Allow, Instead of Seize, the Day

I've been giving a lot of thought to the various messages we've received over the years and generally highly regard. Many success and self-help experts have told us that we need to "Seize the Day". "Carpe diem" they tell us.

Well, what the heck does that mean? How does one "seize the ...I've been giving a lot of thought to the various messages we've received over the years and generally highly regard. Many success and self-help experts have told us that we need to "Seize the Day". "Carpe diem" they tell us.

Well, what the heck does that mean? How does one "seize the day"?

"Men for the sake of getting a living forget to live." ~Margaret Fuller

The dictionary defines the word seize as:

- take hold of; grab
- take or capture by force
- assume, seize and take control without authority and possibly with force

What are we supposed to do? How does one seize a day? Do we wake up in the morning ready and willing to force the desired events and goals of the day to happen? Do we push ourselves and other people to get things done when and in the way we want them done? Do we stay attached to how our day must unfold?

If that's what "seize the day" means then I'll pass, thank you very much. No seizing of days for me! Too exhausting! And I've learned that whenever I force anything to happen I usually don't get a good result over the long term.

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world." - John Milton

I have learned to "allow the day". Allowing your day is to be open to all possibilities. It is showing up present, and in the moment, ready and willing for whatever comes next. When I detach from how a day must happen I permit the events of my day to unfold in ways I might not have thought of.

Allowing my day doesn't mean that I have no goals, objectives or intentions for my day. I wake up each and every morning with a clear vision of what I intend to create for that day. I just let go of how it has to happen and allow intuition and inspiration to guide my thoughts, choices and actions that will deliver the desired outcomes I have intended for the day.

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." - Scott Adams

Have you ever wanted something and had no idea how you were going to get it? And soon there came the day when you got it? You had a clear vision of what you wanted and focused upon that thing or event that you desired. Intuition and inspiration gave you ideas that you took action upon and before you knew it, you got what you wanted. Or, the thing or experience you desired came to you as an "out of the blue" opportunity.

"Out of the blue" coincidences are not random coincidences. Without getting too metaphysical, I call them meaningful coincidences because they are the seemingly miraculous fortunate events that deliver what we desire. We could not have planned for that event to happen in the way it did. When you detach from how, you open up to the possibility of a meaningful coincidence.

Instead of using a lot of energy running around trying to seize the day try setting a clear intention and then just allow your day to unfold. Allow your intuitive messages your inner wisdom, what I playfully call the Inner Wizard, to orchestrate the how of what you intend to become reality. It is important to take action on this inner guidance because intention without action is only a dream.

"The art of living does not consist in preserving and clinging to a particular mode of happiness, but in allowing happiness to change its form without being disappointed by the change; happiness, like a child, must be allowed to grow up." - Charles Morgan