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Robert Burns wrote a song we all know well. It’s the one we sing when stepping across the border from an old year into a new – Auld Lang Syne.

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and days of auld lang syne ?

In case you ever wondered, “auld lang syne” basically means “days gone by.” We sing it to signify the passing of one way of things into another, like on New Year’s Eve. But this year, ideas in a New Year’s devotional have inspired me to sing it on January 1st.

Remembering is not just about looking at the past. It is about facing the future with confidence…
Consider writing down a highlight of your year before you even begin thinking about goals for next year.
~ inspiredfaith.com

I had every intention of doing a New Year’s highlight post (a video, actually), but I let it slide till later and went ahead with goal planning instead, right after the stroke of midnight. Goals are good…but it’s a mistake to move on to something new without first recognizing the benefits of the old.

Some stuff should never be forgot

What were your goals last year? Is it safe to say you wanted to do your best, be your best, make a difference in someone’s life? Well, how’d you do on those?

Asking myself that question, all I remember are the things I didn’t accomplish. The target dates I missed; projects I didn’t complete. All the time I diverted to other commitments, rather than my Official Goals. Problem is, I’m not objective—I see what I wanted to do, not what was actually done.

In other words, I forgot just how much I achieved.

Thankfully, other people remembered. I have e-mails, Twitter @s, instant messages, texts, handwritten cards, printed letters, blog posts, videos, even book dedications, from people I had the privilege of knowing or working with last year. “Thank you for the work you did…” “This wouldn’t have been possible without…” “You inspired me to…” “You are awesome!” “You make me happy…” and so many more. They’re amazing, because they remind me, again and again, that even if I didn’t measure up to my own expectations, I was part of something wonderful last year: another person’s life.

Now that I remember that, I’ve got a new goal: To compile all the supportive, encouraging messages I received last year, and make them available at my fingertips for reading throughout the months to come. To remind me what’s important; how far I’ve traveled in life; how much I’ve already done. Because without that perspective, working toward the rest of my goals is nothing more than “wandering many a weary foot.”

How about you? What’s in the cup of kindness from your auld lang syne?

More to do…
Keep that cup o’ kindness available for a right gude-willy waught! Or, in other words, tune in tomorrow, and I’ll show you some ideas for saving, organizing, and accessing those beautiful memories, so you can draw inspiration from them all the year to come! ~ Christine

© 2010 mousewords

Tags: Inspiration by mousewords
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On a recent Sunday, I went for a walk on the beach with my family. We were happy to discover that a local artist–who is famous for his sand castles–had left yet another beautiful creation by the pier. He outdid himself with this one–towers decorated with hearts rose from a colorful mountaintop base. Careful details fired the imagination, making me think of the realm of possibilities in life, and the magic of believing in a dream.

Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, the incoming tide was starting to fill the moat. With each new wave, the water crept closer to the castle. Several children had taken on the noble task of saving the castle from the onslaught. They worked tirelessly to build walls of sand around the moat, in a futile effort to block the waves. They were trying to stop the force of the sea–which was pretty close to being impossible. A few adults shared wisdom with them, advising them to shore up the base of the castle itself, to strengthen it so that it would survive the tide–in part, if not intact.

I watched the scene play out for at least an hour, while thoughts drifted through my mind. How that castle resembled my own aspirations–beautiful, colorful, a joy to behold. And how very much the sea resembled the harder circumstances in life–powerful, destructive, and often unstoppable.

And I knew that, sometimes, I resemble a person who is standing on a beach with a bucket, a shovel, and a vision.

When ideas, opportunity, and resources all come together at the same time, it’s tempting to fire into a venture with the first rush of excitement. Taking the tools at hand, we begin building our dreams into reality. Enthusiasm is indeed necessary for success; but we need to make sure we take a look at the whole picture before we begin. We need to look at the long-term–what might come down the road? What will happen when the tide shifts in our field? Will we be able to move with the tide, or will we be overwhelmed? What can we do to prevent against the destruction of all that we have worked for?

In the case of a castle sculpture, that might mean creating it on a movable surface and blending a fixative in with the sand so that it will dry securely and hold together. Instead of having a fleeting existence, a castle like that could be displayed for many years.

So what’s the equivalent with our castle of dreams? What base will make it adaptable to change? What can we put into it at the start to insure its strength in the future?

When we answer as many of those questions as we can at the beginning, we prepare wisely, building a solid foundation for our dream that will be able to withstand the test of time and struggle. And in doing so, we create something that can remain beautiful for generations to come.

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© 2008 Christine Taylor

Tags: Business, Inspiration by mousewords
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Window perspective, Photoshopped, originally uploaded by ergozoom.

I had a dream the other night. In my dream, I was in a busy atmosphere, in a creative location. I don’t know what place it was, but I remember feeling confident, and guiding others in a group project. I had a clear sense of what I needed to do.

At one point in the dream, my task led me to a winding staircase. I began climbing the stairs, without thinking twice—I just knew it was what I was supposed to do. Still feeling that sense of quiet confidence, I continued upward, higher and higher.

The higher I went, the narrower the stairwell became; until suddenly, I rounded a curve and found myself facing a wall. To my horror, the wall began closing in on me. In my dream, I realized that this was due to the machinations of the place—like the gears in a clock tower, the area was supposed to move and change. But now it was going to crush me, and because I was up so high and the stairwell was so narrow, I couldn’t move to escape! Panicked thoughts raced through my brain. I had felt so sure I was on the right path—was I wrong? Had I made a mistake? Would it be the end of me?

Just when I was certain it was all over for me, the wall stopped moving. It took me a moment to realize that I was safe. When I looked at the wall, I realized that it wasn’t as close as I had thought it was. Yes, I was in a tight spot—I could barely move. But something told me the wall was supposed to move, and it wasn’t going to crush me.

I awoke and went about my day. The image of the tight staircase and moving wall was so vivid that it clung to my thoughts, and bothered me. But soon the image clicked, and I realized something.

The Face of Success

There are times when we know what we are doing, feel confident in our abilities, and are certain we’re on the right path. Things go smoothly—for a time. Then suddenly we find ourselves higher than we’ve ever dared to go before, in a place that moves and changes unexpectedly. And the walls begin to close in on us.

The name of the place, I think, is Success.

Fear of failure is a well-known obstacle… but fear of success is equally debilitating. We can spend a great deal of time climbing toward success, preparing for it, dreaming of what it will be like; but when the reality actually arrives, it overwhelms us. We feel as if we have reached a stopping place where the world is closing in, and there is no way either to escape or keep moving upward.

At this point, we need to take a good look at where we are, and recognize the place for what it really is. It’s bigger and stranger than we had ever imagined it could be…and it demands more of our talents, strengths, and abilities than we feel we possess.

But that’s not a reason to give up.

Staring at the massive wall of Success, realizing it will not destroy us, we have two choices: Continue forward, or slide back down the way we came. After working so long and hard to get where we are, is giving up even an option?

Face the fearsomeness of Success, and realize that it will challenge you. But you can conquer it and move forward.

How?

Don’t ask me. I’m still at the top of the stairs facing a wall. But I know it’s not going to crush me…and I’ve started to look around to see what I can do next.

Because I’m not backing down.

Dreams are sweetest when they come true.

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Tags: Inspiration, Musings, Personal by mousewords
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I’ve just had the honor of being called an SOB on Liz Strauss’ blog!

“Successful and Outstanding Bloggers — They take the conversation to their readers, contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on. Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.”

Thanks, Liz. You totally fit the description of a Successful and Outstanding Blogger yourself. :-)

Tags: Inspiration, Internet, Journal, News, Personal, Social Media by mousewords
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I have a lot of ideas. A plethora of them.

Sometimes these ideas cram together in my noggin until I’m certain they’ll be pouring out my ears. Most often it’s “good” ideas–story plots, art projects, web design plans, goals, wants, dreams, hopes, desires. Things I can do and be and say.

But there are stressful ideas, too–thoughts, really. The time frame I have in which to complete these projects. The magnitude of work that’s involved with them. The limitations of the resources I have at hand. My own lack of experience in certain matters.

What often winds up happening is that the overload of ideas and mounting stress cause me to clutch–I get stuck between having a ton of things to do, but not knowing how to do them all. The ideas and energy build up inside me, while I stand immobile. Imagine filling a pressure cooker with more pressure than it can handle–at some point, something’s gotta give.

Facing one of these moments yesterday, I decided to go for a nice long walk. Burn off some of that energy, clear my thinking. But I was delayed until it was too dark to walk very far; so, instead, I sprinted up and down the block.

Probably looks strange to passing motorists to see someone in jeans and a windbreaker running back and forth as if there were monsters on her heels, but I’ve long since given up worrying about looking strange.

As I ran, I was still thinking. The energy can be burned away, but the ideas remain. Tons and tons of thoughts, pouring through my mind. I puzzled over them, wondering to myself, How can I get all these things done? How can I do what I need to do?

And then I looked up in mid-sprint, and saw a road sign. It read:

“NO PARKING ANY TIME. BEGIN.”

Hit me like a blast of cold air. Keep running, keep moving. Let the energy and ideas pour out together. Just begin. Dive in and start working.

And don’t stop running.

You’ll get where you want to go.

It felt good to run; felt good to have the fresh air. I could have kept moving back and forth, back and forth, till I collapsed from exhaustion. But that’s the thing about running–you won’t get anywhere unless you have a destination in mind, a purpose. If you’re not running toward something specific, you’re merely burning energy.

So I plied my feet back toward the house. Back to my office room, back to my ideas. And I’m simply digging in.

No parking at any time.

Begin.

Tags: Health, Inspiration, Journal, Musings, Personal, Sports, Writing by mousewords
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