Loving Yourself enough to do what makes you Happy

I haven't written in a while because right now my life is filled beyond capacity.  It is filled with happy memories and new experiences and new feelings. Both about myself and my life in general.  But I had the time today to give an update on my journey towards finding my bliss.

Sometimes it isn't easy doing what makes you happy. You may encounter obstacles in the least expected places. Sometimes well meaning friends and family members may feel the need to label your needs as selfish. They may even feel that you are in some way doing a disservice to them because you are stretching out and touching new horizons.  They may feel threatened because you are doing things they only dreamed of but were never brave enough to try for themselves.

Don't be disheartened by this negative feedback.  Take it for what is worth. Learn from your mistakes and move forward. Pursue what brings true joy to your life. Be that taking some new chances or simply being brave enough to show your real face to the world.  Never apologize for being brave it is a rare quality not found in many.

Never allow the feelings of other to stop you from being happy. People come and go in your life. Even family members can become distant with time.  But you are the only person who has to live your life day to day.  You are also the only person you have to answer to in the long run. 

Do what makes you happy as long as those choices bring no one any real injury.  Perhaps you cannot give as much of your time to your favorite charity or participate in those family activities that you have once been a stable aspect at. But in the long run finding your own bliss will make you a much better person. More centered and more stable for all those who remain in your life.

You cannot be happy with others until your first learn to be happy with yourself.  You cannot center your world around another person no matter how much you love them. Children grow up and move on with their lives. Parents grow older and die and loved ones may come and go.  Those are changing aspects of your life.  They are not stationary nor are they permanent.  Nothing in life is guaranteed, not even our next breath.  So why put off your dreams until another day when there may or may not be another day in your future.

I am not saying to quit your job and move to Tibet to follow some Eastern religion. I am not saying to divorce your spouse of several decades simply because at the moment they may not quiet fit into your ideal world as you see it. I am saying take time for yourself. 10 minutes a day or one day a week, or something that makes you a priority.

You don't have to be a slave of the universe you only have to do what makes life more bearable.  Something I have learned in the last year of this journey of self exploration. I am far more capable than I originally thought.  Yes many things still scare me and yes I am still not quiet brave enough to do all the things I want to try, but with baby steps I am approaching those things with a new perspective.

We as human beings evolve and change with time, and experiences. We learn new ways to approach problems and new ways to interact with our global community.  There is no right or wrong way to approach something, only ways we haven't tried or ways we did and that didn't work.  We have to think outside the box sometimes and we have to know that although we may fall down or fail we still continue on.

We learn in this life that we are not always right but we are never always wrong.  That we learn as we go and by expanding our horizons and stepping outside our comfortable boundaries we are capable of being so much more than we began.  That life is ever changing and that we as humans are constantly learning. Think about where we would be if ever invention ever created was stopped because their first attempt failed.  How far we would have progressed as a people and as a society if we had patiently waited for our ideas to catch up with our real lives.

Once upon a time being an independent writer took years to accomplish.  And for many it was a dead end dream. Now with the stroke of a key we can publish our ideas and our thoughts and make them publicly seen.  We can write blogs create videos we share on our networking sites and share with the world our brilliance and our failures.  We as a global community are learning to live in harmony with all gods creatures both human and animal and to try to live in harmony within ourselves and our habits. To leave a smaller carbon footprint and learning form others skills that without the internet we may have never been exposed to.

The world is your oyster all you have to do is belly up to the buffet.  You can research any subject that intrigues you via youtube and google or bing at no cost to your household.  You can get ideas on how others have done things via networking sites by simply asking your friends.  You can learn from others and share your own experiences in hopes of encouraging others to follow their own bliss.

Be that in photography, writing, glass blowing, or sky diving.  We can live vicariously through first person videography and feel our hearts race as we try new things and push out towards new perimeters in our life.  We are only restricted by the boundaries we place on ourselves.  The man who says he cannot probably won't.  The one who believes anything is possible will always succeed in the end.  The journey and the direction is up to you.

I wanted to share this for those who are following me or who read my blog to hopefully give them strength and knowledge that failure does not define you, it only helps you figure out what works and what doesn't.  Where your true passions lie and what makes you happy. Discovering who you are is a journey within our own souls.  It helps us define who we are in the bigger scheme of things.  It also helps us expand our knowledge and continue to grow as people and as citizens of our global community.

I am proud to say I have reached my first goal with the blog it has been read over 1,000 times in less than a year.  I am very proud of the blogs I have written and the things I have learned along the way.  I have explored things that terrified me and done things that I never thought possible until now.  I now know that nothing is impossible if I am determined enough and want them bad enough. That the only thing to fear is fear itself and that I will be made better for having taken this journey.

I hope my words give you food for thought. I hope that everyone who reads these words take a long hard look at their own lives and figure out what is working and what isn't. That they on occasion take that walk on the wild side and truly live.  Life isn't about how many breaths you take but the moments that take your breath away.  Live life to the fullest. Never forget that there is so much out there that you haven't tried or tasted or experienced.  Never stop learning and know that you will be a better more rounded person for the effort of this journey. 

Who knows you may even learn that something you have hated your entire life when prepared a different way or approached with a different mind set is now your absolute favorite thing in the world.

Until next time blog buddies. Stay safe, stay sane, and be happy.

An amazing shot I never could have gotten if 

I allowed my fear of spiders to dictate 

what I was capable of.

 

Another Amazing shot I would have missed if I 

had not stepped outside my comfort zone to explore 

new boundaries.

Not my photo but one that inspired me on a networking site.  

Hoping that is does the same for my readers.

What inspires you?

Many times people feel that their bliss is out their reach or that they don't have anything in their lives that truly makes them happy.  They go through life on auto pilot just doing what has to be done. That honey do list or getting up every day to complete the task at hand. But to me that is simply existing not living. 

Following your bliss simply means that you are living the life you were created to live.  It may not be the fanciest or the most elaborate.  But it is a life worth living.  It is finding happiness in those little things that you often take for granted and doing what comes naturally to you.  Many of my bliss experiences are based in things I have done for years and not thought about.

To me writing is a bliss.  I enjoy putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and just allowing my thoughts and emotions to flow freely.  Even if those thoughts or emotions go no further than my private journal or my online blog.  I love to write, to me it comes as natural as breathing.  I know when I cannot do it I often find my emotions building up until I am ready to blow my top or explode at the least little thing. So writing to me is a bliss I enjoy pursing. 

I have recently returned from a sabbatical from my educational goals.  I take off for a semester or two when I need to decompress and clear my mind. It has made my educational goals stretch out over several years what normally would have only taken a few years to complete but my life is all about balance and finding that balance within myself. I take off to tend to personal issues, help out with family matters or simply to clear my plate and focus on the truly important things in my life.

Finding your bliss isn't about balls to the wall all out losing yourself completely in what makes you happy. It is about finding things that you enjoy, that you can on occasion escape into or find joy in. It is about learning what makes you tick and what makes you happy and making time in your already busy life to pursue those things. It is about feeling like your talents are valued and that you have an important role in the over all scheme of things.

It isn't about running away from your life and not taking care of the things that you are already obligated to. It isn't a midlife crisis it is simply learning to enjoy life to the fullest and having a life worth looking back on and saying man that was a wild ride.  It is about doing the things that you enjoy, that you are good at or that you want to be good at and doing them.

It is about not waiting until you get a death sentence from a doctor and realize that you have allowed several decades to slip past without making any kind of a dent in your list of things you really want to get accomplished.  It is about finding joy where joy exist and taking the time to actually enjoy your life and sharing that joy with others.  It is about living a life well lived.

I have heard from some that finding your bliss is a selfish and destructive life path to choose.  That you should put others first and never think of yourself.  I say those people are the ones who need to follow their bliss the worst.  They truly believe that wanting happiness for yourself in some way or fashion is a betrayal of helping others.  I believe that by helping yourself you are helping others. You are becoming a better person who is happier and more rounded.  Better balanced and in a far better position to help others because you have pulled yourself up by your own boot straps and done something that few people will ever do.  You have learned how to be happy.

I know that may sound selfish but the reality of the situation is this. If you aren't happy with yourself how can you possibly learn to be happy with someone else?  How can you express what it takes to make a relationship work if you are unaware of what you need to feel complete.  How can you advise others about how to live when you are merely existing in this space and time.

I don't care if your bliss is a quart of rocky road icecream and your favorite movie marathon. Take time to decompress and learn to embrace all the wonderful things this life has to offer.  Stop doing what doesn't work and what doesn't make you happy and make time in your life to do what does. You will find yourself not only feeling better but your emotions will no longer being in hyper drive. You will find you have more patience with others because you have more patience with yourself.  When you learn that everything doesn't come overnight or just because you want it to you will learn what is truly important to you and your life.

I know I haven't been writing as much as I would like and I feel it deep inside me. But at times my life gets super crazy and things hit out of the blue that tear me away from doing the wonderful things I enjoy. I try hard to make time for them but sometimes life gets in the way and my plate just gets way to full to fit even one more thing into my waking hours.  I find that when things settle down and I can actually find the time to think about the things I want to do at times I am so incredibly exhausted from dealing with the things I must do that I have no energy left.

Tonight I was blessed in the fact that I finished my homework earlier than I anticipated and still had a little energy and creativity left over to pursue my bliss.  Most days I am not that lucky.  Most days I run from the moment my eyes open until the second my head hits the pillow and I am out cold until the next morning.  Leaving little if any time for the things that bring me the most joy in my life.

Spring is just around the corner and our home is abuzz with the sounds of spring in the air. We are currently caring for 43 baby chicks. Our future egg laying hens, we started small and did only 20 last year that were a straight run of birds (Both male and female) to see how it would work in our already busy schedule.  This year we are doing strictly hens because well you only need so many roosters in a flock and I have picked the best of the best for our egg layers and future flock. 

I have several trays of seedlings ready to go in the garden as soon as the weather warms. They are under grow lights on a moveable greenhouse that is in my office.  Thriving and growing.  Some would argue isn't gardening one of my blisses that I pursue so how can I say I have not had time to follow my bliss.  The reality of the situation is this.  I love gardening, I love being able to step outside my door and pick a fresh tomato off the vine and bite into that homegrown freshness minus the chemicals and pesticides and herbicides.  I love the fact that I can provide those I love most in the world with home grown goodness and enjoy the bounty of my garden year round. Do I love the ins and outs and mundane details of starting seeds and hoping that nothing goes wrong between putting seeds in the soil and harvesting those fresh veggies, No I do not.  I often find my mind wandering over the things I need to be doing and counting down the days until warmer weather gets here and I can feel the sun on my skin and the fresh air in my lungs.

I love the whole getting my hands dirty and feeling like I am taking control of our food and taking a stand against commercially raised foods.  I love the picking my veggies and caring for my plants but the humdrum mundane chore of starting our plants from seed I don't enjoy.  I do enjoy seeing those little plant heads popping up from the soil seeking out the sunlight or in our case the grow lights. But from that moment until they are safely in the ground I stress over watering, under watering, to much light not enough light and the right plant food. Once they are outside Mother Nature pretty much takes over and I get to sit back and enjoy the many hours of hard work and just eat the fruits of my labor.  That part of gardening I enjoy. Not the stress the time and the failures at trying to do our plants from seed.

If I hate that part that much why do I do it. Because to me it is all a journey.  It is also much cheaper to go the seed route than the buying plants that I don't know what they may or may or may not have been treated with.  I don't know what has gone into the process of them being healthy and thriving. I guess at times I am over the top on my control issues, still working on that but until I master it or until I can find an organic grower I can completely trust I will continue to do it myself.

The point of all of this rambling is this. Yes there are things you have to do in order to get to where you want to be.  There are things that will motivate you to go against the flow of your current existence in order to get to where you want to be.  There will be pit falls and failures along the way as well as encouragement and success. Never give up, never give in, never surrender. I always liked that expression because when you are following your bliss it isn't all going to be wine and roses. Some days are going to be downright frustrating and irritating but anything in this life worth having is worth working for.  That was a very hard lesson for me to learn as a much younger person.

But I have seen time and time again, anything that comes easily is often not respected nor it is appreciated. Follow you bliss and do not give up hope. Live the life you were born to live but balance your obligations right along side your happiness factor. Love the life you have even if it means only getting to enjoy a very small portion of it because that is far more than many will ever get.

 I hope my words have given you some food for thought. I hope you find encouragement in them and hopefully you remember to always try.  You won't know what you are capable of or if you will enjoy it if you don't at least try it.

Until Next time blog buddies. Stay safe, stay sane and be happy.

My beautiful Cherokee tomatoes getting their true leaves.  I love the part of seedlings that they start to show their true nature. Until then they all look alike to me. Some may have fat stems some may have delicate stems but until those true leaves come it that tray could have been squash, or broccoli or even peppers.  Life is a lot like those seedlings. Sometimes you have to wait a while before you can actually see if the seed you planted is growing or if a weed has gotten into your seed mixture and you are simply raising more nonsense for you to deal with.  Always learn something new each day, any day without a new lesson learned is a wasted day of your time on this planet.