I was going to start out this blog with the sentence, "How many ways can you make someone happy?" But then I realized that you can't make anyone happy - only they can make themselves happy. So, let's rephrase this; "How many ways can you make yourself happy?" In other words, how do you spread the love? In the book, Peace In Every Step, written by Thich Nhat Hanh, the author states it can as simple as a smile or a friendly greeting in passing. Another personal way I try to spread the love is by writing my husband a short love letter (which he does with me as well). On a daily basis, I try to be aware and notice others as well as my surroundings. My husband is amazing when it comes to noticing details and almost always he finds something memorable and/or humorous about what we saw. I also attempt to make an effort to spend time chatting with someone, even if it's just for a few minutes. In that time, I try to find the balance of what's going on with them as well as myself. And I always tell them, "... it's good to see you."
Everything is connected to everything else. A change in one part changes everything else. Live life consciously, in harmony with life, showing reverence for it to sustain life. Creativity, celebration, and being in touch with nature as well as with your Higher Power (whom I call God). This is a life with soul; the soul can then be awaken.
To begin, we need to clear space in order to get rid of the chaos and clutter, sometimes physical and definitely mental / spiritual. We need a new vision; to see clearly. What usually gets in the way of living fully is all the "stuff" we think we have to plan for, actually do, and keep score of how well we've done. It also entails the physical accumulated inanimate objects - all the junk we end up buying. One thing I learned from our camping excursion several years ago, was that my most pleasurable experience was when I was outside - in nature, with people I loved, and actually doing things.
My husband Dave and I ditched the cable TV decades ago and haven't owned a television for approximately seven years when we also gave away our DVD player. We're both early risers, (Dave more than I am), and we meditate as well as connect with our Higher Power before we tackle our day-to-day activities. I also take a few hours for myself in the afternoon to engage in something I enjoy. I don't wish to, nor cannot get caught up in other people's drama and negative frenzy. Living deliberately is thinking through my actions to see how they affect the well being of others and the Earth. Living consciously means assessing my choice; Do I really enjoy my job? Did I marry for love or for money and status? Is my house solely a status symbol?
In other words, I have to know who I am as a person and discover how I want to live. We learn from life experiences. When I went on our camping excursion down to the Southeastern US, that was a real life changing time for us. I've probed what we've learned from that experience - it wasn't because either of us failed, it was a soul journey. In our society-measured "poverty", we rediscovered just how rich we really are! People came to love us quickly and helped us along the way, because we were being genuine; we were being ourselves. We became fully alive then and we are continuing that discovery today as we plot out ways to continue to live fully alive. We're learning to live by our inner light.
You may be wondering why I've included a painting I did a number of years ago of two cows. I've always liked this work, although I rarely painted animals or wildlife. They remind me that they are doing what they were born to do and they do it with no drama. A very good life lesson...
Next week, I'll continue on this subject.
Until next time, stay focused!
Jill
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