Silly Putty of the Soul...What Are You Acting Out?

  Is life just a dress rehearsal where the performers work out every detail of the performance?  Shakespeare said,  "All the worlds a stage and all the men and women merely players"... so the world's a stage and we actors in it.  So what are you acting out?  How is your play going?  Is your performance what you desired for your life?  Behaviors become habits and habits become values.  A repeated action creates a habit.  Are your habits positive?  

The official definition of a habit is:
a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up:"this can develop into a bad habit"synonyms: accustomed to · used to · given to · want to · inclined to  

Small repeated actions done enough times, especially when done on a daily basis will end up as a habit, something you are accustomed to, used to or inclined to perform.  

Do you remember the old vinyl records?  When I was in junior high there were a couple records that I particularly loved and would play them every day while dancing near the record player.  Eventually the needle would skip across the record and create a scratch.  Then, every time I tried to play the record the needle would get stuck in the scratch.  That is what happens when you have repeated an action so many times it is now a habit.  The habit, a repeated pattern, is the scratch and you get stuck there.  

The old Chinese proverb says, "Habits are cobwebs at first, cables at last."  At first a repeated action is just an action, no harm no foul.  Keep doing the same old, same old and all of a sudden what was once just something you did has a grip on you.  You will fall into the same pattern over and over.  Breaking free of a habit is extremely difficult.  

What are you rehearsing in your life?  Motivation gets you going and habit keeps you there.  So, if what you rehearse is good for you, is a positive pattern then, yeah!  You have created excellence and you are stuck with it.  However, if what you are rehearsing is negative, a bad habit, then it is time to do  something to change. 

"We first make our habits, and then our habits make us."  That is a strange thing to say, isn't it.  Well, in my case now that I am a senior citizen and very retired, my motivation has become writing.  Where I once did it to make extra income I now do to satisfy a creative urge.  Every day I have a little morning routine and then settle in to write, read, meditate and then write some more.  I get quite lost in this and often hours have passed before I look at the clock.  It always surprises me how fast the day flies by.  Writing and pursuing spiritual knowledge is my passion so it is a good habit to pursue.  It is productive and satisfying.  However, there are only so many hours in the day so more often than not sitting in front of my computer comprises my day.  My habit has taken control over my life.  It takes great effort to drag myself away from my computer, my books, my writing.  I know there is a world out there, but habits can become pretty tough to control.  

So now the question becomes, do I stick with my old ways or head in a new direction?  I do want to be more physically active for a multiple of obvious reasons.  So, for me, a modified habit will work well to shape my future.  Changing the future is not really possible, but you can certainly change your habits and that will in turn create a new future path.

Changing a habit is a pretty tall order.  It will not happen overnight, especially if it has anything to do with chemicals you put into your body.  You will need spiritual fortification.  An affirmation for changing habits might be, "Today I abandon old habits and take up new, more positive ones."  Remember that God in you is able to do anything.  

Be encouraged this day. Set your intention and keep your focus on a better life and it will be yours!