John Smallman – Today is a new day. Of course every day is a new day, but people often forget that as they plod through their daily chores earning their living. But enormous changes can occur in one day, or in an instant. You are free to make choices in every moment, and you do, but they are very often the same choices that you have been making for years, in almost complete unawareness. Become aware of your choices, each and every one of them, and then decide if you would like to maintain them or change them – from which shoe you put on first in the morning to whether you really want another cup of coffee or tea, to whether you want to change jobs, careers, or relationships. So many of your choices have become automatic, and yet your choices determine how adequately or inadequately your lives flow.

Make each day new by being aware of each choice you make, from the smallest to the largest. That does not mean just being aware that you have made a choice but discerning if it is really the best choice you can possibly make in this moment. Drifting through life is what occurs when you do not see all the choices that lie open before you in every moment. But you can become aware of the great variety of choices open to you by practicing discernment in your little choices – which shoe shall I put on first, and why – because it leads you into full awareness of what you are doing in each moment and that enables you to question the wisdom of that particular choice.

If you are not accustomed to being so aware of your daily routines in such detail, starting to become aware can seem like a very difficult task, but, with practice, as with all things, it becomes easier and then natural. It is a case of being present in every moment so as you raise a cup of tea to your lips you are aware of choosing to lift it so that you may take a refreshing sip, and then enjoy the sip, and then, with awareness, putting the cup down again. That kind of awareness of each moment has incredible healing power. Continue reading →