Sunday, July 21, 2013

Meaning in life

I like Purpose Fairy, she brings together thoughts and ideas on improving living.  This is the links to her original article. I used her headings and added my comment to what she said.
http://www.purposefairy.com/10482/15-ways-to-bring-meaning-back-into-your-life/

1. Be Happy

To me, happiness is an inside job.  If I allow outside circumstances to control how I feel, I am giving my power away.  

2. Show Up

Hiding away in my room keeps me safe but so alone.  I do count connecting with others from the internet as getting out and about in the world.  Isolation is not showing up.  Get up, get out, be there.

3. Follow your heart

First challenge, find my heart...what is my passion?  Posted away to find out the other day.  Dissociation shields me from hurt but also removes me from my heart.  Find it and follow.

4. Find a new perspective

Counseling shook up my world like a snow globe.  Both counselors encouraged me to look at my world differently.  In photography, laying down on the ground gives me a totally different from standing.  Flying in a jet again changes my perspective.  Sometimes I need to purposefully question my assumptions to see if a change of perspective is what I need to continue to grow.

5. Have a sense of wonder

Photography allows me to totally focus on the wonderful world we live in.  Wonder doesn't apply to just what we see but what we feel too.  Ever just stopped and felt how wonderful breathing is?  Ever let a piece of chocolate slowly melt in your mouth and focus on nothing but the luscious flavor slipping past your tongue?

6. Find people you love

It is awesome if the people that you love are in your family but that is not always the case.  I think this is the amazing part about the internet, I can find people all over the world that share my interests and goals.  However, I need to go looking. 

7. Set goals

This one is tough until I understood that they needed to be my goals.  There was a time in my life that my goal was to get out of bed and move to the couch in the living room.  Plenty of people would scoff at such a meager goal.  However, when I set this goal  and started doing it every day it got me moving.  When setting goals, don't think about what someone else things you should do.  Follow your own heart and stretch just a little past what you are doing now.  

8. Help others

Somewhere in all my reading I encountered the Platinum rule, Do unto others what they want done.  The beauty of this is two fold, it requires me to get to know the other person well enough that I know what they need and it meets their needs.  How awesome is that?

9. Dance

My daughter got me dancing for exercise; it is the only exercise that I have done for more that 2 months.  I love dancing at the studio, with my grandkids, and in the rain....Absolute best is dancing in the rain.

10. Pamper yourself

One of my life challenges is recognizing that self care and pampering myself is NOT selfish.  One of the pitfalls of fighting against narcissistic behavior is to self neglect. Pampering yourself reassures yourself that you have value and worth taking care of.  

11. Face your fears

I love the line, "Feel the fear and do it any way."  Counseling helped me face some of my big monster fears.  Friends can also assist in helping us face our fears.  My sister and I go walking and have what I call sister therapy, we walk and talk about our fears, frustrations and hopes.  Prayer or meditation are also great aides to facing fears.   

12. Go to a museum

Go do something different.  I happen to love museum's too.  I am blessed to be in a city with many of them.  Did you know that you can also go the museum's online.  To get you started here is a link to the Louvre Museum http://www.louvre.fr/en

13. Exercise

I had no idea how powerful this one was until I did it for more than a year.  Yup, it needs to be a habit.  I learned to push past my limits.  I learned that I am stronger than I thought.  I learned that exercising with others is fun.  It is not easy at first but is one of those things that the more you do the better you are at doing it.  I started with walking to the end of my driveway and back.  I started with 5 seconds in a plank position.  There are several webpages that will help you work out an exercise program for free.  I am now a believer in the value of caring for myself by exercising.  

14. Limit TV

My kids grumped at me for limiting their TV/video games to 2 hours a day.  They quickly learned how many different things there are to do. I am working at doing the same.

15. Get in touch with nature

I have mentioned this one before the value of taking off your shoes and strolling through grass.  Many of my pictures center on my love for nature.  Carefully growing flowers and tomatoes in a harsh climate depends my appreciation for life's abundance.  I am typing this while I listen to the rain patter on my window.  What a lovely sound.  

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