Have you ever had a moment when suddenly everything felt effortless? Full contentment, enjoyment, child like awe and wonderment? That's what I'm talking about when I say your world stands still - times slows, and all is magical - if only for a moment. Maybe it happened when you held your newborn child, or when you hiked to the top of a mountain and looked out on the vista view, perhaps it occurs while watching someone you love do what they love, or maybe even when you are totally and completely immersed in something you yourself are passionate about? Do you remember the last time your world stood still, everything felt vivid and perfect and peaceful?
Lately I have been working to cultivate more and more moments of this in my life & I'm hoping you might feel empowered to to do the same. When I am in moments like this my eyes become glittery (teary) and I feel overwhelmed with purity, joy, happiness, bliss. I stand in awe. I must pause and marvel at the wonder the world is in all it's perfectly timed grace and glory. This feeling comes over my body that is feels airy, satisfyingly still and empty with tiny bubbles of joy floating around. Have you felt this before? How would you describe yours? Would you like more moments like that in your life?
What I've noticed is that we actually have the ability to create more and more moments of this in our lives. This used to happen for me sporadically and sparingly. Recently I have been experiencing pure bliss multiple times a week, sometimes multiple times a day. It's been changing my life and in sharing this with you my hope is that you can feel more moments of profound peace and contented connection in your life too!
“Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder””
How am I doing this? First and foremost I am TRYING to feel more of this in my life because I enjoy this wondrous feeling and believe it means I am on the path of my soul purpose. The biggest thing I notice is that I am doing this by being more present in my life. I am working on noticing where I am, what I am doing, and all the little details of beauty around me. I am focusing on the view as I am driving, the trees as I am hiking, the lighting in my office as I am writing. When I am making dinner I am making dinner. When I am in the shower I am noticing how the water feels as it touches my skin. I have created more sacred space in my home (thank you mother nature for giving us 3+ feet of snow so I was able to spend time alone in my cozy cabin re-connecting and re-building). I have cards up from people in my life that love and support me, I have photos up that inspire me, and I have words around me that encourage me. I am building more physical space that brings me to my happy place and I am setting aside more space in my day by being present. I've also cleared out the things that no longer serve me- where there are memories attached that bring up feelings I no longer want to feel (like unlovable, inadequate, unsafe, or a failure).
I am choosing to have things in my life that inspired me. This can be the objects of decoration around me or the sayings I write on my chalkboards. It can also be the clothes I choose to wear or the way I wear my hair. I am bringing more light and more space into every area of my life. Cleaning out my surroundings and clearing out old patterns and thoughts that no longer serve me. We can create more of what we want in our lives when we are inspired. Are you inspired daily?
Now you might be saying you don't have time for that. I get it. I totally get it. How I created space in my day was by getting organized. I repeat to myself, "If I do not plan, I plan to fail." That gets me every time. Naturally I am not someone that likes restraints on me or my time so this can be a challenge sometimes. I remind myself the more I plan the more I actually get done and the more I get done the more time I have to do other things in my life! When I get organized I do a brain dump. My brain dump is writing down EVERYTHING I have to get done/want to get done/hope to get done. Things that are immediate and long term. When I write it all down I don't need to hold space for it in my mind - more space and ability to be in the present moment instead of holding on to my to-do's!
After everything is written down I can organize it chronologically - again planning equals being free to be in the moment and getting more done. It also helps me to be realistic on how much I can accomplish in what amount of time. The running joke in my family goes like this..... Family member, "Gretchen, what would you like to do today?" My response, "Well I thought I'd wake up and make a farm to table breakfast complete with fresh squeezed juice, go for a run with my dog, practice yoga, take a pottery class, go to the dentist, go visit grandma, take a dance class, go kayaking, and read a book before I plan to meet my friend for lunch!" Yes this is insane, yes I used to actually believe I could get insane amounts of things done in small amounts of time. Now, I write out what I'd like to do, how long I think it will actually take me to do it, and from here I sort through and choose what I will actually spend time on. It's a work in progress :) And I've found that over the long term I get a ton more done and it's things that are done with intention. How can you live with more intention?
The more we are in the present, the more we are in our bodies, the slower time seems to go. It’s as though time gets stretchy and a day can feel like a week and a week can feel like a year. Time slows in the best possible way, when we are in sync with ourselves & in our bodies, we are able to live moment to moment. Want to practice more of this? Join the newly released Embodiment course and be supported in your process.
Take home messages, when we think more about what we have rather than what we are missing we feel more filled than empty. When we are able to plan our days out we can be free in each moment to be totally in the moment because we know we are doing exactly what we want to be doing in that moment. By being in the present moment (aka being in our bodies in a way that feels safe so we can process information) we are able to feel a sense of freedom - there is no fear of the past repeating itself or worry that the future wont be what we want it to be - because we are not in the past or the future, we are in the present moment. By surrounding our-self with things that motivate and inspire us we feel more motivated and inspired.... and energy begets energy so we keep feeling more of the good stuff!
Sending you warmth and love on your journey to living your life with intention, purpose and passion and feeling so many moments of presence & joy!
