Motivation

 In Featured, Pastor Paul's Blog

By Pastor Paul Gauche

Today’s Word: ‘Motivation’ as in… “What’s your motivation for doing what you’re doing right now?”

Andy Puddicombe is a definitely a brother from another mother. He’s also one more good friend whom I have never met. I call Andy a “good friend” because I feel like I know him well and, what’s fascinating to me is that I feel like he knows me.

Andy and I spend time together every morning. Andy is the co-founder of Headspace, a meditation app launched in 2012 which has millions of followers and subscribers around the world.

I’ve used the Headspace meditation app on and off for the past four years. But as we moved into the early weeks of 2020, this tool for growing in faith and awareness has been particularly helpful for me. I’ve found that by making the commitment of 10 to 20 minutes each morning helps frame my mind for moving through the day.

This morning as I settled into the exercise by focusing on the rhythm of my breathing, I sat in those first few moments considering where my breath comes from; who it is that gave me that one breath, and then the next, and the next. Beginning each meditation with mindfulness, considering each breath as a gift from God shifts everything toward a healthier, stronger starting point for each day.

Paying attention to place where I feel the breath, in my chest as it rises and falls, Andy asks an important question: What’s your motivation for doing today’s meditation?” I’m paying closer attention to that question. More broadly, “Why do we do what we do?” My natural inclination, of course, is to do pretty much everything for myself. But challenging me to really think about my motivations gives me that opportunity to step into a different, far more healthy and whole place: our relationship together.

I’m doing this right now to create wider margin for clearer, sharper thinking, doing, and being. My motivation for clearer, sharper thinking and awareness is to learn how this unique time in our shared history can teach us to live differently; to be more present each day for one another.

I want to be spirited differently, be creative  differently, be connected differently, be present differently, practice gratitude and generosity differently so that as a missional child of God I’ll live differently.

My hope and expectation is that when we all do this together, when we’re all paying attention to our “other-and-outwardly-focused” motivations for doing what we’re doing, it will be like a drop of water in a pool, rippling all the way to the edges. 10 to 15 minutes each morning keeps all of that right in front of me, and each of you right in my heart.

That’s some good motivation!

#100days50words

Paul Gauche is the Pastor of Life Transitions at Prince of Peace. His posts are part of his #100days50words project, where be blogs about a different word each day. You can follow his project on Instagram (@pgauche), or on his blog, Thriving Rhythms.

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