It is that time of the year that many of us will review the year that is ending.  This year I choose to do it with a gentle touch of non-judgment of my own foibles and those of others.

It is also a time of looking forward, to imagine what the path of the new year will be. Last year my word, work and theme was “Courage”.   I was embarking on many new opportunities and quite honestly, I was pretty nervous.  Armed with a mantra of courage, I soon found you gain courage by doing and through experience your expertise emerges.  Thus, competence cures the fear and you no longer need courage because it is only needed when you are afraid.  Not that I still don’t have my fears, but by courageously naming them in confidence, I recognize them and use the energy to move forward.

This year my word, work and theme picked me.  While sitting on the front porch on Christmas morning, as the rising sun slowly illuminated the early morning sky I realized that I choose to see, hear, think and feel beyond the human conditions.  But how?  By INSIGHT.  That “still small voice” within.  That clear channel to my innate wisdom and my guiding light.

I heard one time why it is called the “still small voice”.  It is because by not listening to it, we keep it still  small.  The wisdom beyond understanding is another way to think of it.  But how do we hear it?

In today’s very busy, media focused, over stimulated, full of judgment modern world the only way I can imagine to unplug is by giving myself permission to slow down, be silent and allow a peace to permeate my body and mind.  I do this by spending 20 minutes a day in silent meditation.  My meditations are focused on breathing in and out of my nose and feeling the cool air on the inhale and the warm air on the exhale.  My focus is good for one or two full breaths.  That is an improvement.  A year ago, I couldn’t make it through the first inhale without my mind wandering. The purpose is to notice when you have lost the awareness of your breath and bring it back, no judgment.  There are numerous neurological benefits but simply said, it helps rewire your brain from “fight/flight/freeze” to “tend and befriend”.  It teaches us how unruly our thoughts can be and that we are not our thoughts.  Dan Millman says, “You don’t have to control your thoughts, you just can’t let them control you.”

In my desire to live a wise and loving existence, to lead from the inside out, I am supported by this simple practice.  So, this year my word is INSIGHT.   I need to be quiet enough to hear (that still small voice) and brave enough to live what I hear.

This post was written by Isaac Sisneros who serves in the Service Excellence Department of a large hospital system.

Today, I am grateful to serve this hospital and the patients that come here for care. Today, let me be proud of the work that I do; this work is sacred, will I see it as so?

Help me, in this moment, to be grateful for the honor of assisting those in pain, in fear, in anger, or in any other form of suffering; when I see their suffering and am thankful to be of service, I am transformed through empathy, kindness, and compassion. And my intention is to transfer this transformation to my fellow human beings in need.

May I respond with a smile. May I respond from my heart. May I be filled often and from this full capacity, may I give with my vitality, in my humility, and from my whole-heartedness.

Let me be grounded, malleable, and permeable; like water, I seek to cleanse, soothe, and flow into the cracks that are frequently unseen, unnoticed; and be faithful to that which sustains and nourishes all parts of this greater whole. Let me be. Let me be WITH others. Thankful for this work and opportunity to be full and emptied and filled up again and again. A witness. A voice. Eyes and ears and heart. Mindful.

Isaac Sisneros

This morning, I felt the need for a quiet meditative drive. I am in a beautiful location, so I headed off down the country roads determined to explore and be open to whatever emerged. I love those moments; those times when we can break free from the routines and demands upon us and allow life to consume us in unexpected ways. My heart was bursting open this morning with love, gratitude and emotion.

I have captured these images in my mind and treasure their blessings. I was mesmerized by the natural wonders that surround us every day. I watched as two men fish on a lake as smooth as glass. I am coming to believe that fishing offers a highly introspective quality that I may have underestimated all those times my father headed out with his fly vest and pole

As I drove down a narrow one lane road, I passed a man and his young son, walking hand in hand down the path, blissfully exploring the world around them. I cannot even describe the look of pure contentment in their eyes.

I noticed two women in a sea of what appeared to be wild daffodils. They smiled at one another as they cut a bouquet; arms full of blossoms.

I drove by two older men, parked side by side on the road, conversing and laughing boisterously with one another as if all that mattered in that moment was their friendship.

And then, as I turned a corner, my most miraculous sight of the trip. . . I was witness to a farmer in the field as he helped a newborn calf rise to its feet for the first time. In that moment, the tears could not be held back any longer.

We are surrounded by so much beauty every second of our lives, but too often, we are not able to "see" it. My hope myself and others as I dream of tomorrow is that I can open myself up to magic and wonder of life. I hope for the ability to see the beauty that is in front of me always.