Find a Place of Joy

What is proper behavior?  Most of us walk through life with a preoccupation that others are watching and judging us each step of the way.  Who is really doing the judging though?  Is it the voice of a family member telling us we need to act more mature?  We get stuck in trying to behave in a "proper" manner without really asking ourselves "WHAT DO I WANT? WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY?"   Sometimes all we need to do is allow the child in us to run free.  When we let go of our fears of how we look to others and live solely in the moment, it changes our perspective on the entire world.  How can you worry about the future when you are living fully in the now?  Why not take some time today to pull out a pen and paper and write down what truly makes you happy?

Power on the Other Side (A Series)

"But what we call our despair is often only the painful eagerness of unfed hope." (British Writer..George Elliot)

Unfed hope.  Hope is a feeling that what we want can be had.  What do we want?  How many of us really sit down with this and identify it?    

A baby bird who wants to be fed opens his mouth wide and stretches his neck with the expectation that something will come to ease the emptiness in his belly.  Just like an infant child he cries out to be heard.  He instinctively knows that his cries will bring results. As an adult we have the capabilities of getting what we need but often are too afraid to use them.  This inability to get past this fear is what causes despair for many of us.  Finding a way to feed the hope so that it matures into joy is difficult for many.

What are some ways to feed the flames of hope?  Discovering the "feeling place" you are in and finding a way to elevate it even a tiny bit, is a start.  Discovering what makes us feel good is an important part of the process of feeding hope. So what makes you feel lighter? Happier? Less heavy?  Peaceful? Giddy? Do any of these words resonate with you?  Remember the fragrance when you opened a new box of crayons as a child?  The first brush stroke of paint on a white sheet of paper? The discovery that you could ride your bicycle faster and farther today?  The sweetness of a cold popsicle on your tongue after playing in the sprinkler on a hot summer day?  The way your heart feels when you stroke your favorite pet?  How about the fearless laughter of a child?  Starting from this place with pen and paper in hand and writing down the way these things feel can rev up your energy and help you find a place TO hope.

Keeping a journal is one of the most beneficial tools for changing the way you see yourself and the way you process those thoughts. In the next post we will look at other ways to feed hope.

To learn more about the benefits of journaling:

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/the-health-benefits-of-journaling/

Pondering the Positive

Bad(?) news yesterday, did not get the job that I was sure was coming my way. I have now been unemployed for almost nine months. There is this part of me that wants to be outraged but it has not gathered any steam. On the contrary, I realize I didn't want THAT particular job anyway. It was a job though, a means of survival, money in the bank, insurance, dentist for my daughter, food on the table. And then I realized I still have everything I need. This is the place I start from today. Roof over my head, just enough money to pay the bills, love in my life, two healthy daughters without major drama, first grandson on the way, great car with NO car payments now, relatively good health, and solutions in the pipeline for anything that isn't working. So what am I doing about the rest? Studying. Writing in my journal. Using amazing guided meditations found on the internet. Finding others I can help. Swimming and doing yoga and trying to make that a habit in my life. Examining what I want...not crying about what I don't want. Reading for the second time in 3 weeks the book "Ask and It Is Given...Learning to Manifest Your Desires" by Esther and Jerry Hicks. Getting involved in a discussion group on the principles of the Law of Attraction. Bringing up my vibrations by finding things that make me feel GOOD....I like feeling GOOD. I am hope filled today even though I haven't a clue what is coming next. And you know what? It is kind of exciting!