Alignment is an important concept for me, as you have likely guessed from the title of this blog. But not everyone is familiar with this idea. So for clarity’s sake I thought I would take a moment to outline exactly what I mean when I speak about alignment.
Definition of ALIGNMENT
1 – the act of aligning or state of being aligned; especially : the proper positioning or state of adjustment of parts in relation to each other
I use the term alignment to imply a state of being where our intentions and our actions are in full agreement.
That might sound very simple but for most of us it’s actually a pretty tall order. Humans are rather complicated creatures by nature. Despite our best intentions, we sometimes talk ourselves out of the things we really want; we choose inaction over action. We get in our own way.
Most of us fall into a pattern that goes something like this: desiring a certain goal or wanting to achieve a certain state but not taking any regular action to support that desire. Then getting stressed out or depressed about how we are not where we want to be. It’s madness but it happens all the time.
Here are a few more specific examples: we all want to be healthy but then we choose to forgo a workout or two and eat ice cream instead. We want to be centered and calm but we come up with excuses instead of embarking on a new yoga program or starting a meditation practice. We tend to indulge in all sorts of actions that don’t really match up with what we want from life.
When we are in a state of alignment, our actions fully support our intentions. We have balance between the yin and the yang, light and dark, masculine and feminine. In an aligned state we are able to both give support and receive support from others. We are able to stand tall by ourselves and we can also freely engage in healthy relationships.
Now no one is perfect; we will all choose the ice cream over the workout sometimes. But when that choice becomes a habit is when we run into trouble. The ice cream will simply never support out dreams of a healthy and fit body!
[Tweet “We must understand what alignment looks like so that we can recognize when we have fallen out of it.”]
In this blog, I mostly focus on how our homes can support our goals and dreams but true alignment is a constant practice. It involves pausing first to really consider our desires and then to create habits that truly support them. A Consciously Designed home is only one piece of the puzzle; an aligned life involves a holistic approach to our entire lifestyle.
