I read a quote today that made me sit up and take notice. “Stop placing your attention on the things that make you feel heavy and start focusing on the things that make your soul come ALIVE! Since my retirement, I have noticed I occasionally get caught up in a loop of all the people, places, and things that used to be. Don’t get me wrong reflecting on the good ole days can be fun, and many times can create a sense of gratitude for a life well lived. However, it can also take me down a rabbit hole in the other direction, one of sadness and sometimes regret, realizing that those days are gone.
While writing this another quote comes to mind, Be Here Now. On certain days I find my NOW as experiencing feelings of being invisible. I am seeing the signs of my aging skin complete with age spots and the texture of The Sahara Desert. My body looks more like a sack of potatoes than an hourglass. My NOW is feeling a new ache or pain.
I have been focusing too much of my attention on the things that make me feel heavy, physically heavy, emotionally heavy, and worst of all, making my spirit feel heavy. The remedy is to focus on things that make my soul come ALIVE! Sounds like it’s time for some brainstorming and list-making to reveal what my soul needs now to feel alive. I came up with a list of 10 things that will make my SOUL come alive.
Magnificence: impressiveness of beauty on a large scale.
Adventure: an exciting or very unusual experience.
Serenity: the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled
Inspiration: the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially something creative
Community: a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals
Friendship: a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an “acquaintance” or an “association”,
Love: a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simple pleasures
Variety: the quality or state of being different or diverse; the absence of uniformity, sameness, or monotony
Culture: “The Arts” and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement
Joy: the emotion of great delight or happiness
I printed this list and pinned it next to my wall calendar, this just might be a great way to get the promptings I need to set the mood of my day. Looking at this list can give me the encouragement to create activities that will make my soul feel alive and light. I can think up things that will bring me joy and serenity like listening to music or reading something inspirational or maybe my soul tells me I need to experience something magnificent like walking in the forest or watching a sunset. If my soul tells me I need adventure, well all I can say for now is “Watch Out World”! To satisfy my soul’s need for joy, friendship, and community I can call up some gal pals for a day of wine tasting at one of the local wineries or an impromptu afternoon tea…(with wine of course!)
I believe one of the best things about being retired is having the time for self-discovery. In a way, it reminds me of being a teenager. I grew up in the country on top of a hill with the most amazing view. I would spend so many hours sitting in the front yard looking to the east at Mount Hood, and Mount St. Helens or looking out my bedroom window to the west at Saddle Mountain and the coastal range, daydreaming about how my life would unfold. Pondering all kinds of things. Forming my beliefs about how I wanted to live my life. Looking back I realize this was my way of focusing on the things that made my soul come alive.
Here’s to focusing on the things that light up our souls.
“ It’s a beautiful morning, ah
I think I’ll go outside for a while
And just smile
Just take in some clean fresh air, boy
No sense in staying inside
If the weather’s fine and you’ve got the time
It’s your chance to wake up and plan another brand new day
Either way
It’s a beautiful morning, ah
Each bird keeps singing his own song” The Rascals