Are you there?

Yes, we are here.

Lately, we have been focusing on themes of happiness and joy, so I would like to continue our exploration of these topics in today’s post.

That would suit us very well.

As you know, I have been spending more and more time in the past month or so collaborating on our blog and I have been enjoying myself quite a bit.

It would seem that you encounter very little resistance to the experience of who you really are when you are writing.

Yes, although I can’t honestly say that I am consciously allowing myself to stay connected to my true self when I am writing. It’s just something that happens naturally. Even when I get stuck or feel disconnected from your voice, I still manage to enjoy transcribing our conversations.

Writing is something that brings you pleasure. You find it challenging and stimulating and you do not have to work hard at finding enjoyment in that activity.

Often, though, I find myself engaged in activities that I am not enjoying. Most of the time, I don’t even take the time to look for the possibility of enjoyment. And if I’m being completely honest, most of the activity I find myself involved in throughout the day feels more like an obligation than a pleasure. I know that there is the potential for enjoyment in everything that we do, but most of the time, I’m not mindful of what I am doing and I lose myself in the sheer mechanics of the activity at hand. Why does that happen so often?

You seem to have answered your own question, at least in part. If joy is your natural state, it should not seem so hard to bring that particular aspect of your true nature into your daily life. One reason, as you admit, is that you are not mindfully present when you are taking action. Instead, you allow yourself to get lost in the mundane mechanics of the task itself.

I think that is a tendency we all have as humans, especially when the task at hand is not one that we consider enjoyable in the first place, so we just put our heads down and plow on through as best we can. It’s taken for granted that there are a lot of things we have to do in our lives that we don’t really want to do, but if we don’t do them, things might fall apart. So, we grin and bear it, and just grind it out.

“Our lives are frittered away by detail. Simplify. Simplify.” This quote comes from your writer Henry Thoreau and it is very good advice. Sometimes humans find themselves on a sort of hamster wheel of activity. They make lists of things to do, and whether they complete them or not, they find little pleasure either way. Part of the difficulty is that this endless stream of activity is often used to fuel a sense of self-worth and accomplishment. “Look at everything that I do. I’m such a busy person. I must be worth something if I have all this stuff to do. Of course, I’m exhausted all of the time and can’t sleep and I’m frequently agitated because I’m wondering what else there is that I need to do today, this week, this month, this year. But I’ll get it all done. I always do.” This attempt to inject a false sense of self-worth into all of your activity only succeeds in wearing you out. After a while, you get more or less used to the situation. You remain fixed on completing the task and the idea of enjoyment seems less and less relevant or even possible. Invariably, this leads to a lowering of your expectations, especially when it comes to your job or career. “Enjoy my job?” you say to yourself. “Are you kidding? I feel lucky to even have a job.” In the meantime, you spend more and more of your time in a place of discontent. You experience this discontent, but then you repress it because it feels so bad, and then you try to pretend that you are happy, but you are not. You would like to find your way out of the situation, but you cannot seem to find the right path. So, life moves on, and you allow your thoughts to center more and more on vague visions of a retirement where maybe you are able to buy that beach house you have been dreaming about for the past 20 years. In the meantime, it is just work, work, work.

So, what do we do?

You can start by bringing mindfulness and presence into each moment. If you can manage to pause, take a breath, and affirm for yourself that you have the power to create anything you want, the energy will begin to flow in another direction. There is a saying on the earth plane – “Follow your bliss!” This may sound like a pie-in-the-sky notion, but there is great truth in it. When you follow your bliss, when you seek enjoyment in all the things that you do, you tap into the energy of who you really are. You ARE joy, so what better way to experience yourself then by seeking joy in your work. We are not suggesting that you impulsively quit your job if you are dissatisfied or unhappy, at least not without proper preparation. That is rarely a good idea. Instead, find activities that you already enjoy and make time for them. Pay attention to what you are feeling. Be mindful. Allow that joyful energy to build, to gain some momentum, and then see where it takes you. If you were to keep as your goal the utter enjoyment of your life and set that intention at the start of every day, you would be amazed by the results.

Thanks for your advice. I think we’re done for today.

Until next time.

Thank you all.

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