This lesson is the real heart of CL practice:  Acting on Reality. Right now!

            One definition of enlightenment is "appropriate action."   While enlightenment is not the
goal of this lesson, constructive action is. In the first three lessons we are taught to pay attention to Reality, accept Reality and cultivate the mind that appreciates Reality and her many gifts.  In one sense, all of this is just "mind stuff" and, while useful in providing the setting and context for action, it is not
yet "Constructive Living" until it reaches the physical plane through your behavior. Now we are
reminded that what really counts is what we do. In the details of our everyday behavior we
practice what it means to live constructively.
            I used to think that the central practice of CL was paying attention to Reality. That view
may be incomplete. Can you see that simply sitting around attending to and appreciating Reality
can be a static picture?   Our thoughts alone have no impact on Reality; it is what we do that
matters.   Every action has moral implications, as do "things undone." So it is in the pithy moment
when we act (even anxiously or while in doubt) that we truly practice this lifeway.
        I recently sent a gift subscription to a monthly newsletter called "The Tightwad Gazette"*
to David Reynolds. He reports that it is "his kind of thinking." The publication is full of specific
and concrete suggestions for ways that we can use the gifts of life "well," thoroughly and with
appreciation. The author, Amy Dacyczyn, is interested in promoting thrift as a 'viable lifestyle' not
simply because it saves money, but because it honors life. Using and caring for whatever crosses
our path . . ."well" implies action, not merely attitude.
            Consider that everything we do has moral implications. Neither my best nor my worst
thoughts or feelings impact the world until they are acted upon. But action, even the smallest
action, begins my relationship with Reality. I then receive needed information and can thereafter
make more informed choices about what to do next. How often I find myself worrying rather than
acting, when action is what is needed to begin the process. "Do more, ruminate less," is a line
from Reynolds' rendering of a St. Augustine poem.
            I am not recommending thoughtless action or merely random behavior. Most of the time I
know what needs doing, but am not yet engaged, or I let the many tasks before me create an
excuse. Therefore, in a field of "things to be done" pick any one of them that needs doing and
begin it. We all know that when we are engaged in an activity (exercising, cleaning, writing, . . .)
it is different from our "imaginings." Do life, don't just contemplate it. Act with attention and
appreciation. Do what needs to be done in your life, and do it now.
 

            Homework: Select something that needs to be done that you have been putting off.
                                When you finish reading this article, begin that task.
 
 
 

This concludes the four part series on Constructive Livings Basics by Patricia Ryan Madson

* This publication  is no longer is in print.  However, the newsletters have been published in book form and can be found on Amazon.com.

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Last edited on August 20, 2002