Working For A Living

We've all heard the expression "Do what you love for a living and you will never work a day in your life".

Do you wake each morning with a sense of excitement for what the day will bring you that you practically spring out of bed or do you wake with a groan at the thought of having to go to work and feel like you're dragging yourself out of bed?

For those who love what they do for a living, each day holds the promise of something new and exciting.  They experience life with a much more positive perspective simply because so much of their time and energy is spent within a positive emotional vibration.

The happiness they experience through their work ripples out through their lives the same way a stone dropped in a pool of water creates circular ripples moving from the center outwards.  When the originating emotion is one of pleasure, happiness, joy, etc., then it is the emotion that ripples outwards into other areas of their lives, providing a more positive attitude and outlook towards life in general.  This doesn't mean a life without troubles, worries, or disappointments; it merely means when challenges arise in their lives they find a way to tap into and maintain that positive emotion to help them get through no matter how big the challenge.

Think about it.  Imagine feeling happy, excited, contented, or any other positive emotion 8 hours a day, 5 days a week while earning a living at the same time.  Most people cannot even begin to imagine what that would look like, or how it would feel to feel that good all day long while at work.  While most would say they can't quit the job they dislike (or even hate), they do have the power of choice, they can change jobs, or even just begin to change their perspective on the jobs they have in order to improve how they feel about it.

What if instead of dreading each work day, they decided to see it as a fresh start.  An opportunity to find the positive aspects of who they work with and what they do, rather than just seeing the challenges and problems.  What if they adopted the attitude of "this too shall pass" realizing how they choose to respond within any situation is entirely within their control.  What if they realized holding onto the anger or frustration merely creates more of the same adn spreads through their lives.  What if they chose to focus on what they need to do to keep themselves in a place of happiness or at the very least, equilibrium instead of anger and frustration. What if, little by little, they became more aware of this, shifting their view from the negative to find the positive each day.  What if, by finding positive things within each day their outlook became more positive, then in turn their emotions would become more positive, and like that stone dropped in a pool, positive emotions rippled through their lives instead of negative ones. How amazing would that experience be?

Remember, the emotion you spend most of your day in is the emotion that will ripple through your life.  Wouldn't you prefer it to be a positive one?  Happiness in life begins with happiness within yourself.

On The Road Again

I've spent a lot of time in my car during the month of April, travelling here and there, short trips and long trips, totalling 2,347kms. (that's about 1,458 miles for my American friends). Fortunately I love driving so it's not quite as bad as it might sound and I know the roads well so I wasn't concerned about getting lost or needing to read directions or a map.

Driving always gives me a sense of freedom and the opportunity to look around both physically and mentally.  It's a break from routine and the chance to see what's going on around me as well as within me.  As I travelled, I noticed changes in the landscape had occurred since I last travelled the route.  Spring had obviously arrived with daffodils blooming at the side of the road and of course, the ever present road work and detours which arrive each spring and stay until late autumn; similar to the migrating birds, only a lot noisier and annoying than the birds could ever be.  Old buildings are gone, new buildings sprouting up all over the place.  What used to be open land is now populated with houses and stores; getting out of the city takes a lot longer simply because the city has grown. So much has changed, yet so much remains the same; different yet familar.

As I drove I contemplated how the changes I saw around me reflected the changes within me.  A lot has changed over the past year.  I've cleared away some of the old (physical stuff, beliefs, emotions) in order to make room for the new things I want in my life.  I don't just mean new physical things, I mean new opportunities, new people, new ideas, new clarity, new understanding.  Like the landscape around me, I too had to clear a place within me in order to accommodate the new.

Clearing the way was a lot like road construction as there were delays and detours along the way.  Though frustrating at times, I learned delays provide the opportunity to take another look or a better look to see what's going rather than just rushing by without a second glance.  Detours take you to different unexpected places, often showing you something you would have otherwise missed completely.   It really is about the journey and not the destination.  Yes, it's important to get where you're going, to reach your goal, however, it's equally important to be flexible enough to realize there's more than one way to get there.  As they say "all roads lead to Rome". 

While my road trips took me many kms. (miles) in different directions, my internal journey did the same.  Within me there is a sense of newness, a feeling of anticipation and excitement for what is developing, a sense of happiness and freedom, and a desire to seek and explore new destinations.

Once again I am reminded that our outer world is a reflection of the world within us.  There is so much to explore in both!