So, in that vein, today I wanted to discuss the conflict we all have, or believe we all have, between what we *want* in life, and what we *must do* in life. So many of us feel that achieving our dreams and meeting our obligations are mutually exclusive goals. I've talked before about people using the excuse of life and family and work and all the associated obligations as reasons not to tackle their health and fitness goals. And yet never has it been more apparent to me that putting your dreams FIRST makes it EASIER to meet your obligations. When you're happy and fulfilled, the minutiae of life is a pleasant breeze!
“Your greatest gift to others is to be happy and to radiate your happiness to the entire world.” ~Jonathan Lockwood Huie
It's hard for me, at times, to make time for this blog, for propping other people up, for cheering them on, for activating the natural motivator within myself. I have lots of duties and obligations and every time I turn around I think, "I'll write the blog tonight" or "I'll put it on paper tomorrow". And then tonight/tomorrow never comes...just like the diet that will perpetually start "Monday" or the New Year's resolutions that are easier to look forward to than commit to *now*. But I notice that, just like an appetizer may spur on your hunger, so, too, does dabbling in feel-good activities (like pursuing your dreams and goals) fuel your desire and motivation to do more to achieve them! Better yet, though, they fuel your appetite for LIFE. They increase your enjoyment of your day-to-day activities and obligations, they make you feel like you're THRIVING, not just surviving. They make meeting your obligations pleasant and easy, rather than tedious and tiresome!
If life seems monotonous, like a "holding pattern", like you're just trying to get through this phase in your life; be it the "terrible two's" with your kids, or a rough time at work, or a gruelling few years of school...do the unthinkable. Set aside your obligations and pursue your dreams and goals! Go after them with zest and gusto, grab for the gold ring. Screw that you are tired and overcommitted and have "too much to do". The laundry will wait, the kids can skip a bath tonight (it won't kill them), your homework will still be there when you get back from that 30 minute run instead of the 30 minutes you were going to spend screwing around on Facebook and procrastinating your homework ANYWAY. Your job will benefit from you getting out of bed an extra half hour early for that workout...you'll have more energy and focus all day long. You'll feel better about YOURSELF, which will make you feel more competent, confident and in control. You will be thinking, "I've *got this*!"
Take this blog. This blog is me radiating my happiness to the entire world; sharing myself with you, my passions with you, my deep and ardent belief that "Your life is an occasion-RISE TO IT!" Despite the time commitment, when I just sit down and WRITE IT instead of thinking about doing it, I take such joy from it! This is me telling you that I have grabbed one of my golden rings, and behind that ring I have found the door to a thousand more, and within myself I have found the wellspring of power, of energy, of inspiration and motivation to reach for EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM! And all because one day, instead of using "surviving" as an excuse to toil wearily and meaninglessly through the days of my bleak existence, I rose to the occasion of my life! If today I seem to radiate happiness to you, consider that it is a gift to all of us; I feel like I have enough life and joy inside me to fuel the whole world, and by feeding it to you all, I replenish myself! It's like a well that can hold ever more water, so long as it is always being plumbed to slake the thirst of those in need! And this is nothing unique to me. This is the power we all have within us.
All across the world tragedies and atrocities occur, and normal people of no matter and simple means rise to the occasion of their lives, and lead their families, their communities, their fellow man. They rebel against unjustice, they tend the sick, they feed the hungry, they nourish the depleted, they defy the odds and they live their lives out loud. They are nothing more or less, no different in substance or in nature, than you and I. They simply saw a need in their lives, and without question, they ROSE TO IT.
Your life occasions may not be as dramatic as the tragedies in Syria, the starvation in third-world countries, perhaps not even as dire as serious illness, financial strain, etc. Perhaps your day to day life is much more mundane, and as such, you feel that you lack the circumstance, or the dire straits that drive average people people to act exceptionally. I'm here to tell you that this is untrue. You can be as shackled by "living the American dream" as you can be by a cruel dictator, and you can convince yourself of the helplessness and hopelessness of your situation, of the need to accept it, as much to keep that 4-bedroom house in the burbs as to keep your meagre existence in a war-torn country. We all follow the false belief we should keep our heads down, not make waves, be grateful and satisfied with and for what we already have, not wish and ask and hope for more. And yet, who does that serve? Most of us, when asked what we really dream of, would not list worldly riches. We would list the richness of experiences, of *feeling*, of the sense that we are truly LIVING our lives, THRIVING, every beat of our hearts an instrument in the symphony of the lifeforce around us, offering up a worldless prayer of joy to the heavens for our very existence, thrilling in every breath! To live a life fully realized, to seize our dreams...THAT serves EVERYONE. If we all lived that way, imagine what our world would be like! But it has to start within all of us; it's a seed we all have, that we all need to germinate and grow...it's not for others to do, it's for EVERYONE.
We radiate our happiness, and in doing so, life, big and small, becomes a breeze! Those tedious chores are done dancing to a tune our hearts sing, those odious obligations become bright sparks of gratitude for the opportunities we have, those difficult moments with cranky children become bonding opportunities as we shine our inner light down onto them and watch them respond to a happy, healthy, joyful parent instead of a tired, discouraged, cranky adult. That schoolwork ceases to be work and becomes mind-expanding opportunities to LEARN, which is WHY WE WANTED TO GET THAT DEGREE IN THE FIRST PLACE!
Folks, if you're not enjoying your children (no matter HOW challenging they are, and trust me when I say, I KNOW THAT OF WHICH I SPEAK), if you're not passionate about your work or your schooling, if you're not feeling the life and vigor in your limbs like a tree in midsummer, perhaps it's not really that any or all of those things are lacking...perhaps it's that YOU aren't LIVING-aren't reaching for your goals, aren't constantly striving for your gold ring, aren't activating the happiness within you and radiating it to the world!
The Universe will give to you what it receives from you. If you trudge through it grudgingly, it will be a wearisome place. If you dance through it joyfully, the sun will shine on you every day! The world is a friendlier, happier, more beautiful place...when you choose to reach out to it!
Have you ever noticed how, at a party, the more other people are enjoying themselves, the more YOU enjoy yourself? The happier everyone else is, the happier and more joyful YOU are? Why not be one of the people who arrive happy, and bring that happiness to everyone else? Why not be one of the people who get this party STARTED? :)
My friends, your life is an occasion, it is THE occasion, it is one long occurrence, and yet over in the blink of an eye. It can't be relived, it can only be recalled. Don't spend another day of it sitting and watching the others dancing and wishing you knew how. Stand up, walk out onto the dance floor, and move to the music! Pretty soon you'll find that NONE of us has had dancing lessons-we all just decided to let the music take us, too! The hardest step in any run is the first step you take out your door. Don't think about joining us on the dance floor anymore, just JOIN US! We all want you all out here dancing, too! The more the merrier! “Your greatest gift to others is to be happy and to radiate your happiness to the entire world.” And in so doing, you return to yourself the gift of happiness, too!
Today, my friends, set aside your duties and obligations, and reach for your dreams. Take one step towards them instead of doing the laundry. Spend 30 minutes seeking them instead of Facebooking. Indulge in half an hour of researching one of your goals instead of preparing another elaborate meal or bathing the kiddos. Your heart, your soul, your universe, will thank you...you will radiate your happiness to the world, you will feel yourself rising to the occasion of your life...unconsciously leaving your seat and joining the others on the dance floor. You will have taken the first step out the door...and you'll find the next steps flow much more naturally and easily! And miracle of miracles, you'll discover that you still have time for those duties and obligations...and they're much more pleasant, and they're dispatched much more quickly!
Don't Think, my friends. Just Go. Rise and Dance with us-the world needs your happiness today!
Lisa
