Here’s a mighty powerful question: What’s it going to take?
We usually mutter that question in dire circumstances. Worst case scenarios. Rock-bottom situations. What’s it going to take for you to wake up? What’s it going to take for me to stop? What’s it going to take for them to realize?
But life is always an urgent circumstance, when you think about it. Birth – miraculous. Survival – miraculous. Death – inevitable. Suffering – optional. Life – urgent.
I wonder what my days would be like if I approached my happiness with the same sense of urgency that I dedicate to deadlines and to-do’s.
Like, I’ve GOT to meet my dancing quota! Wild horses couldn’t keep me from lunch with my girlfriends! Come hell or high water, I WILL get a facial and lay in the sun! Most important deadlines: to meander, to laugh until I snortle by noon every day, to make pizza with my son.
So, in the spirit of urgent vitality – and not knowing if today will be my last – I’m asking myself, lovingly but firmly: LaPorte, what’s it going to take for you to be incredibly joyful? What’s it going to take for you to make an evolutionary leap as an artist, lover, mother, friend, human? What’s it going to take to get you to walk to the lake that’s four minutes from your house? What’s it going to take to get you on the dance floor? You want to eat life whole? To know God? To radiate pure love? Urgently, now: what’s it going to take?
I think it’s going to take everything I’ve got. Deep breath. Pause. Softening. And, smiling. Because I’ve got what it takes. As do you.
True desires rise from rich capacity.
Editor’s Note: Danielle LaPorte is the creator of WhiteHotTruth.com, which has been called “the best place on-line for kick-ass spirituality.” She is the author of The Fire Starter Sessions: A Digital Experience for Entrepreneurs, an inspirational speaker, former think tank exec, and news show commentator. You can read all of Danielle’s EcoSalon guest articles here, and find her on Twitter @daniellelaporte.
Image: shaggyshoo