There was a zen teacher who taught a really disciplined approach to Buddhist practice, and they would do 10,000 daily prostrations to the North, East, South, West….and then he gave a talk one day, to the monks, about how enlightenment, and all the good things in life, were really just happy accidents.
And one of the Monks, said “Excuse me Master, but if Enlightenment is really just a happy accident, why do we practice all these disciplines….”? The Master looked at him and smiled and replied “to become more accident prone”.
Is anyone else’s default trying to force the flow?
I have a larger-than-life Hyper-Achiever that lives in me, and a long-standing habit of working hard. And I’m working on it, as I know what got me here (hard work, along with bags of purpose and passion) won’t get me where I’d love to go next.
So over Easter I took myself to Hvar Island for four days of doing ‘nothing’. Nothing for the first two days involved hiking trails, and UNESCO sites…but I eventually eased into relaxing. And creating space for miracles to happen, in the way of happy accidents. And I had some wonderful insights as to what I would love to create over the next few months, should they still feel good to me after a spell.
And I’ve set an intention for the week, and hopefully thereafter, to rush less, do less, better, be more, and create more space for happy accidents to continue.
Are you creating space for happy accidents to show up in your life and work?
What would it take for you?
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Mehalah Beckett is a consultant, coach and trusted advisor passionate about people, the planet and empowering others to inspire positive change. She coaches purpose-driven leaders to impossible goals, hosts Masterminds for hungry entrepreneurs and guides businesses through B-Corp. What can I help you achieve over the next year?