What makes life worthwhile?

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Patti Clark

“Why are we so obsessed and focused with Gross Domestic Product? Why don’t we care more about Gross National Happiness?”

– King Jigme Singye Wangchuck

My birthday is tomorrow, I will turn 55 years old. I was thinking about when I was my sons’ ages, 16 and 19. I used to think anyone over 50 was ancient. I couldn’t imagine even living that long. But now, at that ancient age, instead of thinking about how long I’m going to live, I am thinking about how I live. What makes life worth living? What makes life worthwhile? What is it that people pursue and long for? And for me, the only answer is happiness and love. It sounds trite, but for me it is the truth.

I was at my friend Jan’s daughter’s wedding this past weekend. It was a wonderful celebration, an event that had taken over a year to plan and organize. It was heart-warming to be a part of such a celebration of love. Because to me, those milestones are the keys to what makes life worthwhile, being surrounded by friends and family.

I was at my happiest recently in Borneo. Not because I was in Borneo per se, but because I was surrounded by my family – with my sister and my neice, my husband and my sons. Being in Borneo was cool, don’t get me wrong. I loved the travel – it was fun and an adventure. But the bottom line was the love I felt being there with the people I love. Had I just been travelling in Borneo alone, it would have been fun and interesting, but it wouldn’t have been what makes life worthwhile for me.

I want to close with an interesting TED Talk by Chip Conley asking us all to think about What Makes Life Worthwhile?

I’d love to hear about what makes your life worthwhile? And are you spending your time pursuing that which makes you happiest? As always, thank you for stopping by, I appreciate it.

Intention!

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Patti Clark

“Our Intention Creates Our Reality.”

– Wayne Dyer

2013 already feels like a year filled with promise and positive power. It feels tangible to me. It’s hard to describe, but energetically, things feel different. Intentions and goals seem to be coming faster. So now more than ever, it seems so incredibly important for all of us to pay attention to what we are putting out there.

Starting a new year always seems like a great time to start new routines. I’ve been starting everyday, making at least 1 intention for the day before I get out of bed. This has been made even easier by using Mallika Chopra‘s wonderful website: Intent.com. It’s a great social media site that encourages you to set intentions, and then allows others to support you in your intentions. Another fantastic website is Lynne McTaggart’s website – The Intention Experiment. McTaggart is doing amazing stuff. Well worth checking out her work. A great interview on YouTube.

But it’s important to remember what Caroline Myss so aptly points out:

You cannot change anything in your life with intention alone, which can become a watered-down, occasional hope that you’ll get to tomorrow. Intention without action is useless.

So I invite you to make some intentions today. Go to intent.com and get them supported. Then take action on them! The time is now. We can all start making a difference in this world, starting with our intentions. Because remember, our intention creates our reality.

I’ll end this post with Mallika’s father Deepak Chopra speaking on Awareness, Attention and Intention.

Please tell me about some of your intentions and how you plan to take action. And as always, thank you for stopping by, I appreciate it.

Clark’s Law

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Patti Clark

“Whatever Can Go Right, Will Go Right, and at the Perfect Time.”

– Clark’s Law (The Clark Sisters – Karin and Patti)

Home again. So happy to be home. Feeling grateful for my home and my life.

So many wonderful stories about Borneo and Bali which will no doubt feature in my posts for months to come. But today, I want to write my first post of 2013 about Clark’s Law:

Whatever Can Go Right, Will Go Right, and at the Perfect Time.

My sister Karin and I coined this Law (thus Clark’s Law!) on the way to the airport as she and my niece Chelsea were leaving Borneo. We had just had an amazing 3 days, where everything that could go right, did. We saw majestic orangutans (after being told we probably wouldn’t see them as it was durian season and they would be out in the jungle and not interested in coming to feed at The Semenggoh Wildlife Centre.) We hiked and saw beautiful caves and waterfalls, and had a fabulous day at Bako seeing troups of proboscus monkeys, even though it was rainy season and many people told us we would probably get rained out from most of these adventures. But everything just kept going right!

This was after ten magically wonderful days in Bali! Ten Days of feeling the spirit and peace that is Bali. Staying at lovely hotels, swimming in luxurious pools, eating delicious food and meeting wonderful people. Having fun with my sister, and my niece and my son – laughing, exploring, playing cards, enjoying our time together. Not to mention our magnificent massage and facials at De Nyuh Spa. Bliss!

On the way to the airport, Karin and I marvelled at our good fortune, feeling incredibly blessed and grateful. And we both commented that 2013 felt like it was already tremendously positive and powerful. We had set clear intentions of what we wanted from our trip together and everything aligned into place perfectly.

2013 feels like it is going to be an amazing year!

I am going to end this post with an interesting and insightful video by Mallika Chopra, Deepak Chopra’s daughter, on the subject of intention. She remembers growing up and saying this every night before going to bed:

“I am responsible for what I see, I choose the feelings I experience and set the goals that I will achieve; and everything that seems to happen to me, I ask for and receive as I have asked.”