It is July 4th, the birthday of our country and many people are celebrating. What are you doing to celebrate yourself? The backbone of America relied on self-sacrifice, hard work and being part of a community working towards a common goal. How are we doing more than 200 years later?
Most of us still work hard, but unlike the physical work that used to be done, we are often sedentary, stressed-out and unhappy. Many of us are isolated from our families and friends seem to come and go. How do you cope with these common stressors in your life? How do we find "happiness and satisfaction" given things like global warming, a shaky economy, and loss of personal power and control?
One answer to these questions has to do with how we experience ourselves, the people around us and our world. We all know that some people see the glass as half empty and others see it as half full. Why is that? What can we do about it?
Feeling happy, satisfied and fulfilled is not easy in our world. Examining our thoughts, feelings and actions can give us some clues to improving our quality of life. Here are some suggestions:
1. Take some time every day to reflect on what you are grateful for. In racing through our days, we can get stuck on what isn't working, what we don't have or haven't done. This type of negative thinking leads to discontent, frustration and hopelessness. Acknowledging what we have, the positive qualities we possess and our strengths goes a long way.
2. Become part of a community that is meaningful to you. I have a colleague who often talks about "her tribe". It is a useful thing to recognize that humans (and many other animals) belong to tribes for several reasons. Humans are no different. We need to be with others, sometimes for protection, sometimes for comfort, sometimes to have conflict with, and sometimes, just for fun. Examine your life. Who are the members of your "tribe"? Do you need to find more than one place where you can feel accepted, supported, and loved? Reaching out to join a new group, making new friends, startngi a new hobby, or improving your own connections with people is one way to become more a part of a community.
3. Learning to identify our feelings, the sensations in our bodies, and our intuitive senses are important to our overall happiness and fulfillment. There is a lot of research that suggests that tuning inward to our bodies provides a wealth of information about ourselves, our past and current experiences, and what is to come. We need to breath more, slow down more, and be in our bodies. Sometimes, that is hard to do, especially if you have been traumatized in any way. Meditation, relaxation, yoga, massage, tai chi, and breathwork all have the potential to help us tune inside, to connect to our inner truths. It is here that we can find a refuge from the outside world in the midst of a storm.
