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“If the garden makes us alive, it is part of our path, if it is music, if it is conversation … we must follow what makes us alive.” —David Steindl-Rust, Benedictine Brother
This past week, I took myself to the garden (don’t worry, if you’re not a gardener, this isn’t a post about gardening, but will establish the focus of this post 😌). I got into a project I’ve wanted to tend to for a while, and in doing so, lost all track of time. My joy swelled, and any weariness was completely ignored. Imagining what would eventually come into being with the changes I was making motivated me to keep going until all the newly created plants (from separating the old, sprawling plants) found their homes and were happily transplanted. At one point a passing neighbor reminded me that it would soon reach 70 degrees! A reminder to take a break and stay out of the sun (don’t worry, I was wearing a sun hat, long sleeves and pants and sunscreen – as a result, I was incredibly hot 🤦♀️). But, my word, I did not notice! I was impressed!
Perhaps it’s not gardening for you that enlivens you and absorbs your full attention, but instead learning and applying new skills to any other field, an area of exploration that piques your curiosity – medicine, ceramics, music, physics, relationships, graphic design, anything. Perhaps, you have multiple areas of enjoyment where you spontaneously light up when engaged in its activities. In these moments of engagement, you drill into the now without even trying It just happened.
What brings you to life? Or as the quote above says, make you come alive?
We may doubt our inner compass if what we love comes easily to us, others don’t understand, or others enjoy something completely different. Neophyte enthusiasts may consider pursuing interests that others understand, but over time, we realize that the only way to live a fulfilling life is to live what we enjoy.
When we come to life with what we’re doing, we discover new insights, make different connections than we did in the past in the pursuits we’re engaged in, and we feel less competitive because it’s not a matter of approval from the outside world. It’s about enjoying ‘doing’.
I reflect on my own childhood, and what time I can lose is spent with my animals, reading, writing, and being outdoors. Most of these interests weren’t part of my world for about 10 years as I entered adulthood, and I had to step away from them to see how unhappy I was. Wrongly, I thought life was about conforming, dimming our light, but luckily, I realized and while taking some courage, returning to what brought me to life made all the difference.
What brings us to life does not have to be the way we live. In fact, it probably won’t be at first, if at all. Embracing what makes us alive holds us in the present moment so we can see and experience life fully. At this moment, we connect with all kinds of questions in life, especially questions about ourselves, and this gives us clarity and then confidence, because we calmly and deeply focus on what we are doing and we enjoy doing what brings us to life.
I often write about my dog. Live, I’m sharing our adventures, members (via A kappa moment) walks with Oscar, Norman, Nelle and I, photographing them as we go about our daily lives. Indirectly, by quietly embracing my affection for my puppies and enjoying their companionship in my life, I feel immediate calm in my life and thus clarity about life decisions – big and small. My dogs are not my calling or career, but they are what bring me to life. Thus, my choice to have them in my life has played an important role in giving me the confidence to live a life that keeps me content.
I can remember early in my blogging career (I started in 2009), I came across a site focused on anonymous online chatting about bloggers (needless to say, I don’t look for such sites anymore), and one commenter wrote about me, “She’ll be alone for the rest of her life with a dog as her companion – how sad.” I know they meant it as a dig, but as you can imagine life sounds pretty amazing, something I would feel lucky to live and experience. Yet at the time, because I knew their intentions, it stung. I had to remind myself that changing how I lived in an attempt to gain approval (in this case, from complete strangers, but dimming our light would also mean dismissing our way of life to gain approval from someone) would never bring me joy and thus lead to a life of true contentment.
Being involved in the activities and ways of life (in my case, living with my dog) that brings us into our lives makes all the difference. We don’t know what the difference will be, but it will enhance life in what we discover, how it nourishes us, and the peace and thus contentment we discover. ‘Coming to life’ is the answer.
When we do what brings us to life, we are simultaneously stuck in the present moment without even trying. By being present, deeply engaged with our full attention, we are not swayed by outside ‘musts’ or ‘shoulds’ and we build calm confidence as we enjoy ourselves and what we are doing. This confidence helps us make other decisions that may seem unrelated to our chosen activity, but because of our engagement in that activity we have clarity about the best decision to move forward in life.
The unfolding of every decision that comes from our sincerity to honor our inner compass is slow, but it happens. Almost 15 years after I read that comment, my life is exactly as they described it, and I am beyond grateful and I feel most fortunate that it is. I wouldn’t want it any other way, and that has made all the difference – embracing, choosing, making time for what ‘brings me alive’.
Today, to do what you love, to invest time and money in activities, projects or trips, let go of any guilt that nags at you every time you partake in them. Your choice to do so will enhance the quality of your entire life beyond the moments when you are engaged in what you love.
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