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Here in Atlanta the weather has been crazy.
One day it is 40 degrees, then the next it’s 70. The trees and flowers are starting to bloom, yet we are hardly out of February.The last few days it’s been looking like spring but feeling like mid-winter.
This struggle of the seasons is so analogous to our personal life transitions. Winter is desperately trying to hold on, while spring is emerging in spite of winter’s weakening clutches.
Once upon a time there was a small child known as you.
This child was born into the world pure and perfect, aware only of its own needs. If those needs were met, if someone held you, fed you, kept you safe and warm, your world was perfect.
Even as you got a bit older, if your parents were loving and kind, you still had a strong sense of yourself as you explored the world and discovered the wonders of living.
But around the time of kindergarten, things started to change. You encountered other children whose words stung, who were faster, stronger, smarter, prettier. You had to perform in school, to win the teacher’s approval, to follow the rules. You saw where you didn’t measure up, where you weren’t quite good enough.
You learned quickly that approval and love can be tied to ability, performance, appearance, personality, and conformance. Even your parents, as much as they loved you, subtly reinforced these new rules with their hopes and expectations for you.
As you entered adolescence, all of your own insecurities were reflected in the cruel words and hurtful behaviors of your peers and the images portrayed in the media.
But hopefully, along the way, you had enough successes, enough love, enough encouragement for yourself-confidenceto have a foothold. However, if your home life was dysfunctional, critical, or abusive in some way, the self-confidence that was budding as a toddler was never able to fully bloom, especially not during the difficult teenage years.
Do you know your personality type based on the Myers-Briggs personality assessment?
If not, this is a tremendously beneficial tool in helping you understand yourself, your motivations and behavior, and how you interact with the people around you.
And knowing the personality types of the people close to you is extremely helpful in understanding them and how you can best relate to them.
If only life were predictable.
Do you ever wish for that?
We merrily (or sometimes stoically) move through our days and weeks and years — following our plan, doing our thing, pursuing our goals.
Have you ever hadsomeone go belly-upwhen you asked them to do something?
They might tell you they’ll follow-through, and they might even make some meager attempt at action. But ultimately the thing doesn’t get done — or doesn’t get done right.
Or maybe you’ve been in a conflict with someone, and rather than addressing the issue directly, they pout or act sullen.
These areexamples of passive-aggressive behavior— a strange sort of non-action powered by an assortment of negative emotions, motivations, or downright hostility.
Part of living a bold life, a fearless life, is knowing when you just shouldn’t give a damn.
Sometimes we must have the courage, the guts, sometimes even the anger, to not care about the possible consequences so that we have the freedom to live life on our own terms.
In spite of the freedoms we’ve won as a nation over the last 236 years, in spite of civil rights, religious tolerance, women’s liberation, sexual freedom, and gay rights, we are in many ways less free to define and pursue happiness than we were when our country was young. In fact, we often have no idea what constitutes real happiness.
And sadly, this is of our own doing.
The word “bliss” is such a soothing word.
It feels both soothing and joyful, like a soak in a warm tub.
I think it’s an onomatopoeia — the sound of the word echos its meaning.
The dictionary defines it as “supreme happiness; utter joy and contentment.” There is also a spiritual meaning to the word. To reach spiritual bliss would be dwelling in paradise or attaining nirvana — a place free from pain, worry, and suffering.
Is it possible to attain spiritual bliss right now?
Can you live a life of supreme contentment, free from suffering?
Perhaps it’s not possible to experience that in every moment of every day. But I think it is quite possible to configure your life in such a way that you can be on the path to spiritual bliss.
And while you are on the path, you can encounter ever-expanding pools of bliss as you learn what constitutes a life of joy and contentment, free from worry and suffering.
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
If you are reading my blog, you are likely interested in personal development and have read many books and blogs on various ways to feel better, get motivated, be productive, overcome problems, andfind your passion.
One topic that seems to have “attracted” a lot of attention is the law ofattraction.
In short, the law of attraction suggests that like attracts like and that our thoughts control everything in our lives from our health to our finances.
If we send out the right thoughts to the universe, we will attract (manifest) all of the positive things to us we desire. And according to the law, negative events are the result of our negative or misguided thinking.