For me having an intention is like setting out on a course of action. Like most people I have an image of something to achieve or experience. It may seem very real and doable at the start, and then along comes LIFE. You’ve experience that, too, I am sure. Still, a true intention is not fickle. It’s a bit like a barnacle that won’t let go.
Phrases posted on Facebook, October 2026
I believe it is vital when we are making an important intention to ferret out whether the intention at its core is a sneaky way to compensate for something. Here’s an example: Say someone intends to buy a whole new wardrobe which will mean a lot of extra work to pay for. Are they compensating for feeling unattractive versus wanting to express a new creative feeling they are sensing in themselves? That is a huge difference that will show up in the outcome.
Referring to the previous post, let’s realize that a lot of our intentions are on automatic pilot
to get things “needed” done. They are also often intentions initiating actions to make us look good to ourselves or to avoid what we fear. There must be more to being who we are than these strategies our egos spend time with.
Besides the important long-range intentions we might have, like getting a degree or excelling in a sport, there are the little ones that are equally important. Making a daily, small, sensible “to do list” and actually following through on what is on it, makes us trust ourselves and more capable of fulfilling the long-range dreams we hold dear.
It’s been my experience that when I set an intention that is not right for me, one little trouble after the other shows up. Their like course corrections or even warnings. Acting on a “true for me” intention I can also have trouble of a sizable kind. But that trouble is of a different nature.
I will be challenged when I set out on what I call a pure intention, the one that feels like a calling. Trouble or some kind of obstacle usually surfaces right away, I believe it to be there to test whether I am really committed. Fears and attitudes also show up (such as, Can I really do this? Am I good enough? etc.). They need to be exhumed for a clear go ahead. I am not alone in experiencing this. Often those troubles turn out to be good troubles in the end.
Think how long a kitchen match will burn . . . even a long one. Not long. That’s like the light of inspiration for something we want to intend. Unless we add fuel to the spark it will just sputter out. For me, an intention is like a promise to myself. Doing something, even small, every day keeps me faithful to my promise. Then the fire doesn’t go out.
Living with a focus, an intention, if you will, gives us a direction and often lets us feel purposeful. It grants us a sense of worth. There is, however, a radical departure from being “on purpose” to simply being. That is not drifting or idleness. It is a different way, one I find hard to live.
Depending on our personalities it may be helpful to tell a trusted someone what your intention is and to ask them to support you in it. Or, we keep is as our own secret like a hot coal in the belly. Only you will know, and one day your intention will bear fruit. I think we know which way best works for us.
Has it happened to you that with the best intentions you said or did something you thought would be right for someone? When it was not received and was in fact perceived in a wrong way there is nothing you can do about it except know that you meant no harm.
We can intend and make plans and do our best to put them in motion. Sill life may bring us another agenda. It’s hard then to surrender to what is and quietly say, “Perhaps this will be better for me in the end”.
Intending a quality or attitude for a day is a lovely practice. For instance, “Let today be a day of listening. Let today be about gentleness. Or, let this day be about going slower” etc. We can check on how we are doing at lunch time or on coffee breaks. This is a practice that returns much more than we put into it.
There’s a difference between an intention and a vow. We have small intentions like getting groceries when needed or sending a timely birthday card. Bigger ones would be things like getting in better shape or starting an art project we’ve had in mind a long time. And then there is the vow., that gut-level knowing to be about something constantly and meaningfully in our lives. To grow to know what that deep life-focus is and to live it is to be filled with grace.
