It is good and pleasant to feel 'aligned' when your personal, professional and spiritual life are in complete harmony. What if you set your sights higher by seeking to build yourself up?
We hear this valuable advice as the grail of flourishing: be "aligned". My mathematical side would tell you that it only takes two points to find alignment. So is it a question of where you start from and where you want to go?
In general, people who talk about being "aligned" talk more about coherence between the different projects in life: personal projects, family projects, professional projects. This alignment, this coherence, allows each project to move forward, without overshadowing its neighbour. This is positive and commendable.
When I hear the need to be "aligned", I always visualise a stack of tracing paper, each with its own drawing. Each drawing having its own beauty, and the whole stacked together making a beautiful work. Really, yes, this is positive and commendable.
But I want to go further. From this beautiful work that is being built, rather than aligning stars, projects and objectives, I advise you to build up. Let each sheet of paper, each project, in all its beauty, contribute to the overall work, but, in addition to creating a beautiful work - which is already magnificent in itself - let this work allow you to build yourself up, to strengthen yourself, to develop your inner strength.
You will keep your inner peace despite the ups and downs of life, you will be confident that you are fulfilling your vocation, that you are fulfilling your mission on this earth.
Rather than aligning the stars, if you see that you are strengthened in the projects that you undertake, your personal, family and professional projects, then you become the person that you are deep inside. If you see that your inner strength grows through your projects, that it is through your projects that you progress, that it is by laying the foundations of your life stone by stone that you blossom, then the difficulties take on another dimension. You will keep your inner peace despite the ups and downs of life, you will be confident that you are fulfilling your vocation, that you are fulfilling your mission on this earth. Successes and humble victories will be a source of true joy, trials and obstacles an opportunity to test your determination, courage and perseverance.
A touch of humour towards yourself to build with kindness, like this tower of Pisa still leaning, and yet completely "aligned"!
How do you feel: 1) a little unstructured 2) well aligned 3) in search of solidity 4) already on the starry track? Build step by step :-)
This post was appreciated and so published on Aleteia/ France and Aleteia/Spain