Detour!

Sometimes, it seems, that life forces us to take a detour from what we feel is the correct path to reach our destination.  It is important to remember that a detour is just another way of getting from where we are to where we want to be.  Rather than becoming stressed at the perceived wasting of time or frustrated at having to travel unfamiliar paths, relax and look around you.  What new scenery, what new insights can you glean along the way.  Detours can either lengthen or shorten the time it takes you to reach your destination. Either way, it is the new experiences that are important.  Relish the fact that you have been given the opportunity to learn more lessons.  Occasionally we come across a Stop sign and are forced to wait as the world seemingly passes us by.  Use the time wisely.  Contemplate the world as it passes you by.  What can you learn?  You will begin to move again and will reach your destination in good time. The light will begin to shine from between the trees.  All is as it should be.

What detours have you had to take?  What did you learn about yourself and your world along the way?  Has the detour offered you a quicker route to your destination, or has it forced you to slow down and look around you?

Happy journeying.

Fun v Joy and Happiness

“What do you do for fun?”- is a question I have always struggled with. Yet it is a question asked by many if not all counsellors, psychologists, therapists.

I never had an answer.  I didn’t like the question.  I understand now, that the word ‘fun’ is the problem here. 

The literal meaning of ‘fun’ is from hoax or practical joke.  Fun is a source of enjoyment or pleasure, but it can sometimes occur at the expense of other people’s feelings. The enjoyment that fun brings is not lasting and can often leave one with a feeling of emptiness.   A certain amount of playfulness or fun is important in life, but the constant search for fun is not.  Therefore I can now understand why having “fun” is not high on my list of things to do. Don’t get me wrong I do have lots of fun, but I don’t look for it and I often feel deflated when the fun has passed.

More important is the search for happiness and joy.  I would much rather be asked “What brings you joy?” or “What makes you happy?”  These two questions I can answer. 

Joy quite literally is the intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness and the expression or manifestation of such feeling.  Happiness is a feeling of well-being, the absence of fear and a feeling of contentment.  It can range from this feeling of well-being to the intensity of joy.

What brings me these feelings?  The unconditional love of my family and friends, watching my children become mature and wonderful adults, my connection with nature and the divine, the world in which we live,  my work in helping others heal and find their path in life, dancing,  my art ….. I could go on!

Yes there is fun involved in most of these things, but it is the happiness and joy they bring that are most important to me and my life.

What brings you joy and happiness?

Whispers of Wisdom

Your inner wisdom is not usually the loudest voice.  The loudest voice is in all likelihood your ego.  Divine wisdom comes in whispers, in quiet thoughts and fleeting visions.  Trusting those quiet, gentle whispers can be quite a challenge when the ego shouts out it's orders in an effort to be top dog.  Your spirit is calling for stillness and silence, while your ego is shouting out to get things done NOW!  Spirit knows that there is no rush, that all things happen in their own time, but the ego says "you're lazy".  We are not of course talking about the everyday responsibilities of the busy modern woman or man, but the journey of life, the quiet gaining of knowledge about our spiritual path, the following of our life's purpose.  The two sides of life, can and must be integrated into the everyday if balance and inner peace is to be achieved.  All is as it should be.

Disruption

How do you cope with disruption in your life? When storm clouds gather?  When your life - or parts of it - seemingly crumble around you.  Do you feel as if it is the end of your world? Or do you look for the lessons learned, the opportunities for change and the way clear to create a new life - the way you want.

When towers fall, building crumble or trees topple, it is a sign that something is not as it should be.  The foundations may have become weakened, the structure may be in the wrong place, perhaps it has not been nurtured and cared for, or perhaps the design was not appropriate in the first place.

When disruption occurs in your life, look for what has really happened.  You have been given a chance to redesign part or all of your life - to take a new direction in your journey.  Do not focus on what you have lost, but rather what you might reap from the experience.  Life now yours for the making.