The Art of Well-Being Series:
Get into the Holiday Spirit — Finding True Joy!
By Karen A. Dahlman
December is a month that is synonymous with the holidays, gatherings,
gifting, good cheer and wishing peace on earth. It is also a time
of frenzy as you attempt to continue with your day-to-day life
while also preparing for the added events that this time of the
year brings. With all of the hustle and bustle found during this
month, coupled with long waits in lines, it may be hard to experience
(let along spread) joy as you are trying to be the super human
with super patience, getting everything done!
Yet, it is possible to run around this month and still find joy
within your spirit as you prepare for the holidays, and it is
possible to carry this joy over from the holidaymaking throughout
the rest of the year. Feeling joy can be a common experience once
you learn the basic blueprint for creating it, enhancing it and
living it.
Finding joy is a compelling force. It drives people to find the “good side” of
life. If you think about it, people want to feel good on all levels. It is
a typical desire to seek happiness and
joy and move away from any pain, fear, frustration and hurt they
may be experiencing physically, emotionally or spiritually. Lives
are spent in a constant search for joy. So often, the end result
is sought while the path to get there is overlooked. So much is
missed when the experience is overlooked, and too many opportunities
for joy are also missed!
How can you experience every joy along your daily path?
Perfect timing! This month is the ideal time to reflect upon
experiencing joy in your world since this time of the year can
bring great joy as you practice the art of giving and sharing.
As the old English Proverb reminds you, “A joy this is shared
is a joy made double.” As a matter of fact, this month asks you
to shift your focus onto others as you share with them through
the mere act of gifting, not merely receiving! This is a thoughtful
gesture that not only brings joyfulness to the recipient, but
also to the giver.
Think along these lines of what you can “gift” within your power
to spread more joy and express more joy along your daily path.
Here are six simple experiences you can mentally choose amidst
the hurry and scurry of this month to contribute to the experience
of joy, now, and year round, for those around you and for yourself.
- Define your joy — know what excites you and brings you happiness. Understand
its impetus. What brings you joy will be different from what brings joy to
your best friend. By knowing your source of joy, you begin to establish an
intimate and ongoing relationship with it. You can easily and readily pursue
those sources when you know what they are. Take responsibility to experience
this joy and share in it with others.
- Cherish the moment — finding joy in your world will
always be discovered in the present, the gift of the current moment. Try to live in the “now” of your path instead of focusing on
the end result. Too much is missed when you live for tomorrow, next
month, next year, when the kids grow up, when you retire, etc.
The moment is cherished once you are involved with your life right
now and not awaiting the “perfect” time or moment. Know that
there is never a perfect time other than now!
- Focus on importance — make and take time for what you find
important. Know that what you focus on and where you spend your
time will be those things and experiences that will prosper. Focus
on what makes you and your loved ones happy, and you will find
more happiness within your life. Avoid focusing on those things
that define you, such as labels or perceived limitations, or you
will find yourself limited and confined.
- See small miracles — notice actions around you. The small
and simple things in life, such as a smile or a helping hand from
a stranger can be just what you needed when you spirits were down.
Or the “chance” meeting of another at a party could lead you
to networking opportunities. Be open, receptive and look for the
miracles. Remember, what you notice and where you focus will cause
more of the same to grow within your world. Remember, joy begins
as a small seed.
- Shift your thinking — change your mind to “give” joy
rather
than “seek” joy. When you can give joy to others, you become
joy. Be what it is you seek. Joy is always found in the act of “happy” expression.
- Appreciate with sincerity — express gratitude to others
within your life. Sincerely let others know your appreciation for them.
All people love to be appreciated. When you express your sincere
appreciation to someone, you are accepting them in the moment
for how they are. Appreciation means acceptance. Others will want
to be around you when they know that you will accept them with
sincerity.
As you experience this month of holidaymaking and gifting, known
for stirring joyfulness, try focusing on the path of doing as
opposed to the grand event of receiving at the end of it. Consider
experiencing joy as an outcome of being and doing as opposed to
an income of obtaining and receiving. The lessons you learn today
while making these simple mental choices can serve as your blueprint
towards finding joy in your world during the remaining 364 days
of the year. •
Copyright © 2005 Karen A. Dahlman. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Karen A. Dahlman, art therapist, licensed counselor and entrepreneurial
business owner aspires to teach others to lead a creative life.
She is founder and CEO of Creative Visions Consulting, Inc., a
consulting & design firm for fortune 500 telecommunications companies.
Her latest business endeavor is Gifts of the Goddess™ — All-Natural
Body & Skin Care, which is close to her heart as it developed
from her work as a therapist, inspiring women to evoke their inner
goddess through self-empowerment and self-care of their bodies.
For more information about Gifts of the Goddess™ — All-Natural
Body & Skin Care, visit: www.giftsofthegoddess.com
Have a well-being question you would like to have answered? You
can write Karen at wellbeing@giftsofthegoddess.com for answers.
12/12/05
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