You are the star of your show
What does it mean to play the starring role in life? For me, it means to co-create the script and call in all the actors. It means that sometimes we forget our lines and improvise as best we can. With each situation I see the plot develop and I see an opportunity for my character development.
Being the star means we orchestrate our own struggles and learn to grow into our joy from them. As an actor in my own life story, I try – though don’t always succeed at – accepting the challenging roles even if that means I’m not the star or hero that day. In fact, to the audience and sometimes even to ourselves, though we may not always appear to be the star, learning to appreciate a difficult decision can bring joy, as it is part of our training.
Whether you’re the star or “just an extra”, can you accept your role today? Can you use your energies to do the very best you can? Can you call in the great power of the universe for guidance and support? With a little patience, a wider view and some perseverance, you never know when your starring role will surface – and it’s best to be ready for it!
My Muse Loves Exercise
Does the term “exercise” in the title, make you groan or bring you joy? Are you excited about the word “exercise” or on the verge of not reading this because of it? You may as well keep reading since reading alone won’t make you sweat!
I loathed exercise and the concept of sweat until I turned 24 when I started going to a gym. Then after a bout of the “ho-hums” in my life, I sought out a new hobby and fell in love with biking 9 years ago when I did my first mountain bike ride. Since then, I’ve been on and off both mountain and road bikes and the experience has radically changed my life.
It wasn’t long before three things became very apparent to me:
- I was losing weight without having to diet
- I was becoming more confident
- I was getting better rest at night
- I had more energy throughout the day
- I was becoming addicted to physical activity
- My creative muse thanked me all the time!
I’ve heard it said that the brain requires more oxygen than any other organ, so a sedentary lifestyle it seems, can severely hamper the flow of creative juices. Therefore, it seems logical that the best way to get more oxygen to our brains is exercise! For me, the creativity factor suffers when I go days on end without moving my body. More creative energy, better sleep, improved health and improved confidence… all are the wonderful benefits of exercise.
So are you ready to get up off the couch?
The Joy in Dieting. Really…
I love to eat. That “Eat, Pray, Love” lady has nothing on me. I can eat with the best of them and I don’t have to go to Italy to do it. I’ve always been one of those people that “lives to eat,” rather than, “eats to live.” I know people like that, eating simply to live, they actually forget to eat. Can you imagine? Forgetting to eat? I don’t know about you but at breakfast I’m planning lunch…and usually dinner too.
For the last 4 weeks I’ve been on a weight loss program where I eat only one meal a day and replace the other 2 with nutritional shakes. I’ve never been a meal replacement fan, I always preferred to eat my calories rather than drink them. Unless you’re talking ‘adult beverages,’ those are OK to drink rather than eat calories. But this time I needed a good jump-start so I tried it. And I’m glad I finally gave in and did. The shakes, which on day one tasted barely palatable, today taste like Dairy Queen! It’s amazing what we can train ourselves to believe. Talk about being joyful! I get Dairy Queen for breakfast every day!
And my meal, my one meal a day, is the best food I’ve ever eaten. Really. The BEST food I’ve ever eaten. See, since I’m only getting one meal, I’m making it myself and I’m making it like Martha Stewart would– cloth napkins, fine china, beautifully plated colorful organic veggies, scrumptious grilled fish, and a bountiful green salad.
Another side benefit, my taste-buds have experienced a re-birth. For the first time in a long time, I not only can taste the food I eat, I know what “satisfied” feels like. And it doesn’t take as much food as I thought it did. So I’m doing great, losing weight, feeling energetic, exercising and enjoying the ride. Will someone please remind me of this when the Holidays are here???
He was that guy.
This was the guy that volunteered to help families in Africa, taught autistic children, cheerfully did dishes and stirred the soup when he was over for dinner. He was naturally polite, kind and funny. I used to joke that he was so wonderful that when he smiled we had to protect our eyes from the sparkling reflection. We knew something fun was going to happen when he bounded through the door. He organized the night that a bunch of kids, including my daughter, slept in a car piled on top of each other like puppies waiting for the annual REI sale to begin. They stocked up on the gear they needed to go out there and experience nature at its finest.
Once, when she was describing him to me my daughter said, “Mom, he was “that” guy for me.” He was the guy who showed her what it was like to be in a truly safe relationship. He held her hand gently, opened her car door, brushed the hair from her eyes and looked at her with such kindness and respect that I will always be grateful to him as a mother. He set the bar high.
In April, he passed away in a rock climbing accident. It is months later and we are still trying to make sense of it. He had a beautiful relationship with God and this comforts us all.
He embraced life with a ridiculous amount of enthusiasm and joy. The life he lived reminds me to be present and enjoy the simple stuff. I appreciate the opportunity to laugh loud, sing badly and contemplate the clouds in the sky. My daughter, who is slowly healing, feels the same way. She has made changes in her life so that she is really doing what she loves most and not wasting a single second. She has said that she wants to live her life in a way that will make him proud. Once again, I am grateful.
Thank you, Josh. We miss you very much.
From Burden to Creativity
“Burdens are the foundations of ease and bitter things, the forerunners of pleasure.” – Rumi
There are times in our lives when the burden of feeling blocked leaves us restless and frustrated. We can feel stuck while missing our muse or lacking in creative impulse. But out of the stagnation, often there are lessons needing to be learned during this period of time which can usher in wondrous changes. We learn things about ourselves that cannot be learned when creativity is high. During that time, though our artistic energies can feel blocked, something probably needs purging and for the moment, we are tasked to clear out lessons for the next level of creativity.
It’s hard to see the lesson and not feel frustrated, but time has a way of opening the heart to understanding things we can’t understand when we are in the middle of a difficult, seemingly unproductive time. Bitter things, as Rumi says turn out to teach us about us and enable us to know joy and creativity as never before – or at least know ourselves better so that we can increase our ability to reach those greater heights.
Rather than judge what is happening when we are blocked, every day ask, “What is this situation wanting of me?” Each situation comes with an opportunity to be bigger, stronger, perhaps more creative than before. These situations lay the foundation for a more joyful, freer expression. Moving beyond the narrow heart of judgment allows us to truly hear and see everything differently. Our lessons will be learned, our hearts will be opened in a new way and creativity will expand. The burden of feeling blocked will then dissipate more quickly, leaving the door wide open to a new creative you!
Beauty All Around
I recently relocated to Colorado, and have begun exploring this vast and amazing countryside. Near where I live there is a 14,200+ foot mountain, Mt. Evans, which boasts the highest paved road in North America. The road climbs up from around 9,000 feet over the course of 14 miles of hairpin turns and sheer drops with no guard rail, reminding me of roads in China and Spain. You twist up through the alpine forest and then break out into the high tundra that resembles a lunar landscape dotted with lakes and the detritus of glaciers. The mountain goats, elk and fox survive in this harshest of environments, where, on an August day, you can have driving snow and fifty mile per winds. On the most perfect clear, calm day, I arrived at the peak in the company of a wonderful friend, shortly before sunset at the time of the full moon. We climbed up the short distance to the peak and settled onto the mountain’s capstone. The only other visitor left, giving us the peak of the mountain to ourselves. The view stretched out in all directions, unimpeded. The sun setting to the west, behind the continental divide, caught Mt. Evans in its glow, casting a perfect shadow, in the shape of an arrow head, stretching to the East with us at the very tip. We settled into quiet and turned within, feeling the powerful vibration of the mountain beneath us. In that moment and space I could feel how very small and insignificant we are, while simultaneously enormous and connected to the universe! After the sun sank to the west, the moon rose to the east, connecting us to the yin and the yang, the beauty and the joy of the world.
Grey is out. Gloom is Gone.
Does anyone else recall the glee when you opened a brand new box of crayons? Do you remember the smell? The perfect wrappers, the long unbroken sticks with the honed, flat, tapered point? Did you seek your favorite color first? For most of my working life, I’ve kept a full set of color markers or pencils on or near my desk. A coloring book of some kind is at hand – mandalas are my favorite. And when I have a few minutes, or need to change my state or take a break, I color.
I’ve loved fabric, paint and texture all of my life. From nail polish to make up, a gauzy floral skirt to a full-length wool cape, these elements of design still move me and make me swoon every day. They delight my senses, make my mouth water, and tickle my spirit. I learned to sew at the age of nine, to crochet in my teens, took up needlepoint in college, and learned to knit on my first lecture tour in New Zealand. (How could I be in a country with 80 million sheep and not learn to knit?) Handwork is a meditation to me, as the luscious yarn glides through my finders, developing a form and personality as I work, yet it also a social focus, as I can “pass the time of day” with others as I create.
The element of design common to all of these—fiber, paint and texture—is color, and I was blessed early on to find a way to use this passion to make my way through the world. I cannot explain the elation that comes when I find the perfect colors and finishes for a space, or what a charge it is to see it—often months later—in real life on installation day. Sometimes I just have to sit and drink in the room and sigh with pleasure, wondering what stories the room will hold in a few years—the events, emotions and gleanings of the souls that will live there.
Color is free energy. The cost for color vs. non-color is usually nil, but the boost that comes from the right color for the right application is a bonus . . . a gift from the Universe. While it is merely a refraction or reflection of LIGHT, the impact is huge, and it gives me great joy. It’s akin to eating canned corn when fresh corn is available: why settle for gray when you can have pink, coral, teal, lime, or sage?
I love this video. It makes my soul smile, from hair roots (uncolored) to my toenails (usually colored). http://www.letscolourproject.com/blog/2010/05/dulux-walls-global-film-launched-2/
Carpe diem
Rebecca
The Higher the Plane, the Closer to God?
In my past life, as a territory manager for Aveda , I would regularly hear hairdressers joke, the bigger the hair, the closer to God. It always made us chuckle.
I was on an airplane last week, flying to CA, my home away from home, I noticed something. Whenever I am on a plane or in a car for an extended length of time, my creativity soars! Have you ever noticed that? All I can say is woohoo!!!!
For the last 6 weeks, I have had a block in completing my book proposal. There are a couple of things in play here. One, my fear of success poked its little head into the picture and started playing with me, and I let it. Second, it is summertime and I usually want a bit more free time, which left me a bit unfocused. And third, I got a nasty sinus infection this summer that really made me slow down for a few weeks. This combination had me take my attention off of the proposal and put it on other things.
At first, I was very hard on myself about being blocked. I know that I cannot struggle through a proposal on a book about Joy! As I let myself experience the disappointment of being blocked and lowered the bar that I keep so high for myself, the energy shifted. When I allow myself to feel what I need to feel, instead of trying to stuff it and hide it, I let myself off of the hook and trust that everything is happening the way it is supposed to. The proposal will arrive on the agents’ desk at the perfect time.
With all that said, I am thrilled to tell you that I worked on my proposal on that plane trip—joy and creativity were in the house! I do believe that the higher the plane, the closer to spirit. Spirit and I are tight—we work well together.
Now, back to trusting my feelings and my process.
Joy Comes in Different Packages
Have you ever seen someone who looks really happy? You know the type of person you want to be around because they are fun and exciting and you want their energy ALL over you. Maybe you even hope that one day you can have as much joy as that person. Wow, what would it take to be that happy?
First of all, most likely that person is that happy because they choose to be. It’s not because life is better for them then it is for you. It’s just a decision they made to bring out the joy in their experiences.
Second of all, not all people who have joy, wear it on their sleeves. Some have a very subdued joy. The type where life is good, and yet, they don’t need to be so overt about it. Somehow though you can sense that they have it anyway. Sort of like the difference between those who flash their money when they are rich and those who have money but are very discreet about it. You can tell they have a certain dignity and maturity about their wealth. Well the same goes for joy. Neither are right or wrong. Just different ways to display the same thing.
Having a subdued level of joy can be more rewarding for some, especially as they get older. Not having to bounce off the walls to tell the world you are happy is a nice feeling. You can harness that joy and bring it inward. Not to be stingy, but to emanate it – to be a walking demonstration of inner, pure and collective joy.
So for today, know that joy comes in different packages. We get to share ours any way that seems to fit – just make sure you share it. Because the world needs your joy.
Happy Friday
Enthusiastically,
Fran
The Joy (and Wisdom) of Gardening
I have a magnificent garden. That’s because I’m married to a very gifted gardner. While Rick plants and pampers our vegetable patch of tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, kale and green beans; our plum, apple and fig trees, and a plethora of flowers, I have one job. I deadhead the roses.
Once a rose blooms and dies, it remains on the bush–taking precious resources from it. When I clip the dead roses, I allow that energy to go to the new buds so they can bloom.
That made me think…where in my life can I deadhead? What activities are no longer serving me, no longer bringing me joy? As I let go of toxic relationships, unnecessary obligations and busy work best delegated, I feel clearer and more energized. I’m blooming! What can you release today?
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The Joy Factor
Welcome fellow Happiness Pioneers! You've come to the right place if you are looking to raise your Joy Factor. My vision is for everyone to live a life aligned with their passions and full of joy. The intention of this site is to offer you juicy nuggets that will increase your experience of joy and delight. Take a look around, grab something yummy and share the joy.
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