This is From The Balance Beam

[TheBalanceBeam] - Turning the Millenium Corner

======================================================================
THE BALANCE BEAM
Ideas and Inspiration for Creating a Life that Works
Vol. 1 No. 10, December 22, 1999
Published by Success Builders, Inc.
http://www.SuccessBuildersInc.com
======================================================================
"He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened."
Lao-tzu
In this issue: TURNING THE MILLENIUM CORNER
====================================================================== Dear Friends:
I hope that as you read this, you are winding down your regular schedule and making preparations for your holiday celebrations. Some of you will be traveling, some staying home, and some hosting family and friends. My wish for you, wherever you are and whatever your customs, is for a time of peace, joy and fulfillment. In this issue of The Balance Beam, we look at what comes next, and ponder the new millenium that awaits us.

If you want to check out earlier editions of The Balance Beam that you may have missed, you can easily retrieve them by clicking on http://www.successbuildersinc.com/newsletter.html and going to the Archives section. If you are not yet a regular subscriber to The Balance Beam, you can also enter your subscription information at this location.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today's Topic: TURNING THE MILLENIUM CORNER

Well, it's almost here. The new millenium, Y2K, the turn of the century. There's been so much talk about this event and its potential consequences over the past year, that it almost makes you wonder what we'll find to focus on when it's over with.

For the most part, the fears associated with the year two thousand bug have been put to rest. We understand that the power grid is ready to handle the transition, the banks don't anticipate any major glitches, planes will be flying, and most government agencies claim to be A-OK and ready for action. This is almost like the giant snowstorm that never materializes. We're stocked in with milk and bread, but now they're telling us that the most we can expect is a flake or two.

As the "glitch factor" has diminished, our concern for what the new millenium is really all about has shifted. Perhaps you've come to realize, as I have, that all of this is less about whether we'll lose power for a day or two, and more about how we're doing – make that REALLY doing – as individuals, communities, societies, the planet.

Y2K has engineered the opportunity for each of us to take stock in how our lives are running, what's working and what isn't, and what our opportunities for positive change consist of. It's like the consummate report card in which we get to assign the grades. More importantly, it's like being given a blank script for the next act in the play. We get to decide what the setting will be, how the characters will show up, and how the plot will unfold.

This is a juncture much bigger than the typical scenario for New Year's resolutions. The issues run far deeper than commitments to lose ten pounds or become better organized. Indeed, they invite us to grapple with fundamental questions of purpose and meaning and fulfillment:

1. What are you most proud of about who you have become? What are your regrets?

2. How are you using your greatest gifts and talents? What is your untapped potential?

3. Where are you acting courageously in your life? What fears are holding you back?

4. In what ways do you honor your most deeply held values and beliefs? Where do you compromise your integrity?

5. How are you growing in your important relationships? Where do you need to speak more honestly and practice forgiveness, of yourself and others?

6. In what ways are you contributing to the greater good? In what ways are you standing on the sidelines?

7. How are you rising to the challenges of a changing world? Where are you hiding out in comfort zones?

8. What is the mark that you want to leave on the world? How are you postponing creating this legacy?

9. What's working in your life? What isn't?

10. What's next on your personal path of development?

Asking the questions is, of course, only the first step. After all, these are not multiple choice items with easily discernable "right answers". They require a willingness to face hard truths and stand in our shadow side for a time. They challenge us to acknowledge all the wonderful positives in our lives and embrace opportunities for change. Most of all, they call for a commitment to action and positive growth, and they invite us to step into a new millenium with childlike wonder, balanced with the wisdom of the ages.

Welcome to the year 2000. What will the next millenium hold for you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Words to live by: "Let us watch well our beginnings, and results will manage themselves."
- Alexander Clark