We've all heard the saying that perception makes up our reality. But what does that really mean?

I am human. Chances are, if you're reading this, so are you! As such, we are very lucky to be born with the instruments of our mind. As a species, we have the most powerful brain on this planet, so much so that it demands to know whether we're alone in this Universe and we've devised many methods to figure that out! We are also on this planet with so many different things among us - animals, bugs, plants, all the luscious flora and fauna!

We all have one thing in common - desire.

We are timeless beings at our core but the experience of this life dictates we start when we are born and the journey ends when we die. All the stuff that happens in between is our story. Desire to be and experience this life is what brought us here, but now that we're here, we are left to our own devices to figure things out!

Time is the measure of length of our story. Happiness is the measure of the quality of our life. So how do we make the best of our time while maximizing the quality of our life? The answer is with practice. A practice in living our lives fully. A practice in living our lives with intention. With Focus. With Action. With Patience. And of course, with managed expectations.

The best way to manage expectations is to be honest.

Honesty - the quality of being honest. Do you face your life being honest with yourself?

When we are not being honest, we are living in fear. This fear is a form of aversion. Patanjali says it best - aversion and attachment are two sides of the same coin.

Sometimes this fear is because we are not comfortable with change and we want to keep things as they are. The predictability of what we know, especially when a change is big or there are many unknowns, keeps us living small. Sometimes we know we will experience pain for certain and wish to avoid it. This also keeps us small.

Honesty is a simple word yet it carries weight of the truth - your truth. Honesty means to look within and peer at oneself -

Are my actions in alignment with who I am and what I want?
Are the quality of thoughts in my head serving me?
Do my thoughts come from a place of clarity and conviction or a place of fear and doubt?
Am I committed to my actions 100% of the time?

This matters.