I’ve been thinking throughout the day about my conversation with Jeff yesterday, praying deeply in my spirit over where and how I can serve, what it is that I am called to do in life. It always comes back to the same answer. Write the story.
I spent the day reflecting on why it’s important to teach what it is that I know about rebounding from pain, heartbreak or loss. Granted, this day has been filled with laughter considering that it’s girl day with my youngest daughter. We’ve watched movies, played cards, cuddled, made cookies…and in that, I discovered a word that my therapist believes really suits me. WONDER. There is an element of wonder to my everyday life, a slight view from the point of a child that lets me see the world from a wide open, expectant heart. I love the wonder that I feel when I think of hope, love and faith. Childlike faith isn’t immature – it hopes all things, believes in love, and comes to rest at the feet of destiny with no negative expectations. People like this achieve their dreams because they don’t know how to fail – and when they do, it’s just a lesson on the way. Edison created a thousand ways not to make a light bulb before the first one burned bright. His wonder never failed him.
Negative, passive complacency is a stumbling block to fulfilling your destiny, to completing your joy – or finding it in the first place. But how do you get there from where you currently are? Let’s face the truth – most people want to live a life that is filled with joy but instead they barely survive the day…every day. No matter how many good intentions you have in the morning, by the time night falls, you’re ready to check into the nearest mental facility where life might be more normal or at least a whole lot less chaotic. People are deeply angry, frustrated, overtired and plain stressed. They are strangled by the consequences of their choices, mired in debt, living in broken communication with the very people they profess to love. Wow, tough world, isn’t it? Here is my list of ideas for you to help along the way.
- Be the joy. I am serious here. Instead of your normal mindset, I want you to imagine the life that you dream of leading. Really pay attention to what you’re thinking, the questions that you ask, the decisions that you make. If you will change the quality of your questions, you will change the quality of your life. What if you could imagine yourself as a joyful person, ready to listen deeply, love fully and to be wholly happy and confident within yourself? What if you never needed anyone to “fill you up” but instead you had abundance to give to the people in your life? What if you could shake all the fears that you aren’t going to amount to anything, that you will fail? You have it all right there within you, by changing your mental outlook and seeing life through the eyes of wonder and possibility. When you go within, you never go without…that is where your divine connection is.
- Be clear about who you are and what you dream of. You can find where you’re going without a destination. Be specific. Know what dreams are important to you – things that you truly can’t imagine life without. For instance, I have to – HAVE TO – write this book. I am excited about it, love it, know that it is part of me. I have to love my kids for who they are and be the best role model I can be through authentic love. I refuse to be anything other than myself, and to let them see how I process, how loves plays a huge role in my life. We talk, we participate, we love. They are amazing people and I respect their opinions. I don’t want them to grow up thinking “should” but “possibility.” I taught them to dream, and to reach out in love…and they do.
- Change your state. Stop the running and the drama. Center. You are whole and real inside that body of yours, but you’re not in charge of other people’s stuff. You cannot fix people – the decision for health belongs to each person. Be the best you that you can – and consider changing your state. Stressed? Deep breaths, think on the things that calm, the moments in life that are precious to you. create positive reinforcement for staying balanced in chaos. Realize that it’s all outside of you. You can change your state by physical action exercise, meditation, yoga. Get involved with your own mental health the right way – be positive and proactive with yourself.
Your day depends on you, how you react to the stimulus around you and what you decide the messages mean. Do you feel a sense of childhood wonder? Do you feel anticipation, possibility, hope, faith and love? Where is it inside you? Can you imagine it, expand it and let it saturate your day?