Live with Presence & Act with Joy
Live with presence and act with joy. As opposed to, living with anxiety and acting from fear.
I heard this recently from someone’s inner voice: “fear robs ______.” We can insert the words happiness, well-being, abundance or even life in this sentence.
It can sometimes feel so easy to act from fear and live with anxious thoughts. With the mind wired for safety (and not excellence), fear and anxiety keep us “safe” from any unknown lurking danger. They keep us from growing since growth feels uncomfortable and we’ve never been there before.
Having the fear and anxiety is totally okay, it’s normal. But, letting them drive your life direction isn’t.
As Elizabeth Gilbert says about fear, “There’s plenty of room in this vehicle for all of us, so make yourself at home, but understand this: Creativity and I are the only ones who will be making any decisions along the way. I recognize and respect that you are part of this family, and so I will never exclude you from our activities, but still—your suggestions will never be followed. You’re allowed to have a seat, and you’re allowed to have a voice, but you are not allowed to have a vote.”
So how can you move fear from the driver seat to the back of the car?
Awareness
Recognizing fear and its irrational thoughts is the ability to bring in some separation between you and the thoughts you think. My favorite way of strengthening my awareness is checking into how I feel. When I feel crappy, that's a sure sign of crappy thoughts. And when there are crappy thoughts, I know it’s time to...
Live in the now
Being present sounds simple but don’t let the simplicity lead you to disregard it. Living in the now sets you free from all the fear and anxiety that’s lurking around, luring you into the past or future. As Eckhart Tolle says, “there are no problems in the Now.” As you move yourself to the present, any need of “fight, flight or freeze” fades away.
Meditation is a great way to strengthen your awareness muscle so you’re able to move to the present when you catch that you’re out. I have found though when you share a space with another, it feels easier to be present and stay there for a long awhile.
And the longer you stay in the now, you then can start to...
Act on intuitive sparks
When you act on your intuitive sparks and ideas, you are growing. Growing into something new, unknown and unseen. This is the mode of excitement, play and creativity! The more you stay in the acting on the ideas, the less time and space you have to even dedicate to fear. There wouldn’t be any room for ruminations and anxious projections since you’ll be too busy having fun!
Interested in consistent action on your joy? Read on for more.
