More Fun to Life

Do you ever wake up in the morning and think “There must be more to life than this”? Back in the 90’s, I woke up almost every day with that thought. I wondered if this was ‘it’, if this was how life was going to work out – a seemingly endless slog of get up, go to work, come home, go to bed, at the weekend dance all night and sleep all day, seeing daylight only briefly and through bleary eyes. The hamster wheel had me and I was slowly drowning in a life that felt increasingly ‘too tight’. I desperately wanted life to be different, but I didn’t ‘do’ anything differently, I just carried on doing the same and complaining about it.

Until eventually I did something very different and went off travelling around Australia with a backpack and no plan. That was the start of ‘the change’. Since then my life has changed and I have changed in ways that make me almost unrecognisable from that unhappy lass 10+ years ago. But still, sometimes I wonder if there is more to life. Usually when I am busy focusing on the fact that I am not Mistress of the Universe (still working on it!), I am not living in a million pound mansion overlooking the ocean (yet) and I am not with the man of my dreams (haven’t met him yet).

When we’re busy focusing on what is NOT in our life, our attention is taken away from the wonderful things that are here now. Not material possessions or even people, but our own internal brilliance. Our ability to be fascinated by life, to find joy in the smallest of things, to dream of better and to TAKE ACTION towards that ‘better’. When we’re too busy focusing on how much life sucks, we’re wasting time that could be spent improving said life. I’d been in quite a funk for a few days, but one conversation with a friend which was filled with laughter and suddenly I saw the light!

It’s not about having everything in your life arranged perfectly, being Mistress of the Universe with the perfect house and perfect man. When that’s what you’re focusing on, there IS MUCH more to life! Because those things are fun, and nice, but they’re really quite irrelevant! What is important? Your energy, your connection to life, your joy, your love, your peace, your laughter. That inner well of magnificence and brilliance that no amount of shit in your life can completely bury. Your spirit, your soul, your light.

Because we can’t buy them or count them, we relegate their importance below a flat screen tv. And that’s the mistake. Because they are the ‘more to life’ you’re looking for. It’s only when we’re not enjoying life that we think ‘there must be more’ (let me know if you ever thought there was more to life while you were having a great time!) And most of the time, that desire for more takes us on a search for ’something else’ – a new job/relationship/pair of shoes/holiday/challenge. There’s nothing wrong with this as such. It’s just that there’s an easier, quicker, funner* way. Start enjoying your life right now – warts and all. Your light, laughter and love will draw you towards changes that no amount of negativity will ever reveal. And even if no changes come, there’ll be more FUN to your life!

Something to Play With

If you’re wondering if there’s more to life than ‘this’, find a way to get enjoying your life – do things you love, spend time with people who make you laugh, listen to your soul sing and dance to the tune. Leave me a comment and let me know what you’re going to be doing to bring more fun to your life.

Love, life and laughter

Donna.x
*Dear dictionary, funner is a word. Honest.
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Follow Your Heart

If you could be doing anything in the world right now, what would you love to do?

What makes your heart sing?

What do the stirrings of your heart whisper for you to do with your life?

Could you start to follow your heart right now?

You don’t have to do something huge and scary to follow your heart, you can just do something small, every day that follows the stirrings of your heart.

Before you know it, you have a happy life, a joyful life, the life your heart desired.

Start today.

Right now.

Love

Donna.x

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What’s Your Life About?

If you had to say what the ‘theme’ for your life was, what would it be? For too many of us, it is ‘misery’, ‘working hard’, ‘getting through the day’ – and largely because we don’t pay attention to what we WANT our life to be about and take steps to make that happen. So if you were to choose what your life was about, what would you choose? Love? Fun? Joy? Enjoyment? Energy?

My life is about falling in love with life – enjoying my life no matter what the circumstances, walking through life with a spring in my step and a smile on my face. Do I always have this? No. I am often pulled off course by “comparisonitis”, “impatience”, “should-bee’s” and wanting things to be ‘different’. But more and more I come back to what life is really about – enjoying it.

So what’s your life about? And what are you going to make it about? Leave me a comment and tell me about it!

Love

Donna.x

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Keep Seeking Your Passion

I was having a clearout this weekend, and I came across a couple of courses I did back in the late 90’s – Positive Thinking and Journalism. I had a little chuckle to myself at the memories of these courses – I thought the positive thinking course was a bit thin, not that useful, but actually when I looked back at the material, it was the distilled essence of some very profound ideas about attracting your ideal life. A little too distilled for me at that time, I missed the profundity and much of the substance of it went right over my head. Proof, if you like that you have to study a subject in much detail to understand some very basic principles!

As for the journalism course – this was a great disappointment to me. I was convinced that I would be a fabulous freelance writer. The journalism course gave me somewhat of a rude awakening. Looking back at the rubbish I wrote and handed in, I now admire my tutor’s restraint, tact and encouragement, although at the time I thought him very harsh! Not to put too fine a point on it, my articles sucked. I did not set the world alight with my writing, much to my disappointment.

Now, I’m not telling you this to regale you with tales of how rubbish I was. But the thought occurred to me that I did what lots of people do – I tried out various courses and ideas to help me find my passion. Along the way I found a few things that didn’t work out, I found out I wasn’t as fabulous as I thought I was. And yet, I didn’t stop. I kept seeking – did more courses (accountancy, IT stuff), I went travelling, did yet more courses, got some coaching and eventually ended up starting my own business.

Some people might just see where I am now – how would they know about the failed courses, the stupid ideas, the seemingly endless ‘please let this be it’ phase I went through? But the back story was a fairly unhappy experience. Looking back on it, I have quite fond memories of this time, but at the time it felt very painful, difficult and as if I was failing in all directions. The experience felt so unpleasant because I took it all very seriously and lost my sense of humour a bit. All part of the experience I guess.

It’s worth remembering that a few failed ventures can be just part of the experience. Each one of those courses, travels and attempts brought me closer in some way to where I am today. Some because I enjoyed them so much, some because I really didn’t enjoy them. Either way, they were part of the puzzle. So if you are seeking your passion, allow yourself to bounce back from things that don’t work out and keep moving forward. Don’t take the setbacks seriously. If you do, you might give up altogether and THAT would be the most serious setback of all.

Love

Donna.x

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Let Joy Be Unconfined

I was just sent this quote in an e-mail from Lisa of Beach Dance:

On with the dance, let joy be unconfined! – Mark Twain

Not a bad motto to live by, say I!

May joy be unconfined in your life tonight!

Love

Donna.x

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If You Could Do It All Again

You may have seen this poem, it does the rounds on e-mail occasionally. This week, a friend sent it to me and I read it again and once again realised how wonderful a philosophy it is:

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

I’d dare to make more mistakes next time.
I’d relax, I would limber up.
I would be sillier than I have been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously.
I would take more chances.

I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.
I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would perhaps have more actual troubles,
but I’d have fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I’m one of those people who live
sensibly and sanely hour after hour,
day after day.

Oh, I’ve had my moments,
And if I had it to do over again,
I’d have more of them.
In fact, I’d try to have nothing else.
Just moments, one after another,
instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

I’ve been one of those people who never goes anywhere
without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat
and a parachute.
If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.

If I had my life to live over,
I would start barefoot earlier in the spring
and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances.
I would ride more merry-go-rounds.
I would pick more daisies.

Nadine Stair,
85 years old.

Nadine Stair is attributed to have written this at age 85. Whatever age you are, look back and ask yourself – if you could do it all again, what would you do more?

I would laugh more, and worry less
I would not take notice of what ‘they’ may think, and instead notice what I think
I would enjoy all of it – the ‘bad’ times and the good
I would celebrate that I am doing my best in every moment

I would know that everything worked out in the end, even when it didn’t look like it was going to
I would live MY life, not try to fit in with the herd
I would do what I was passionate about
I would follow my intuition

I would enjoy my life anyway, even when business wasn’t good
Even when I was skint, even when the nights were long and the weather cold
Even when everything looked bleak, I would have some fun anyway
I would look in my own eyes more and say “You are WONDERFUL”

I would stay out of other people’s business and stay in my own
I would encourage more, cheerlead more, cheer up more – myself and others
I would endeavour to show the best of me at all times
And I would let myself off the hook when I failed dismally!

Wait. I can (and try to) do all these things now. And so can you. What would you do? Once you know, replace would with ‘will’ or am! For example “I will laugh more and worry less” or ” I am laughing more and worrying less”. Then live to YOUR own blueprint for life. My guess is that before we got here to earth, this is what we intended to do – laugh, enjoy, smell the flowers, dance…and then somehow we forgot! So don’t wait til ‘next time’. Do it now.

Love

Donna.x

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Moan, Whinge, Complain

I just read a blog post on www.breaktheillusion.com about complaining. Davey Wavey had decided to have a ‘complaint free’ day…which lasted 3.5 minutes. This just really made me laugh. And also made me think about you guys – do you know how much you complain? How long would you last on a complaint free day?

I like to think I don’t complain much…but I do! Compared to when I worked 9-5 in a job I hated, I complain 1000% less…but I still complain quite a lot. Especially in winter about the weather. Don’t even get me started on snow. Think of the old saying “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” I know people who would never speak if they followed this rule – are you one of them?

Now I’m not suggested you just never speak unless you’re talking sunshine…pretending all is happiness and flowers is just as destructive as constant complaining. But do notice when you are complaining and what you are complaining about. And if you could maybe reduce the complaining time and up the amount of time you talk about what’s good in life.

Constant complaint is depressing. The world isn’t going to hell in a hand-basket, but if you listen to some conversations you would think there was nothing good in anyone’s world. Yuck. So just for a little while, instead of thinking about what’s wrong with your life, the world, yourself; think about what’s brilliant. And have some fun NOT complaining!

Love

Donna.x

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Living Life With Passion

When you think of Loving Life, what comes to mind?

When you think of Living Passionately, what comes to mind?

When you think of Living Joyfully, what comes to mind?

It is my humble opinion that life is to be lived and loved, passionately, fully, joyfully. For too many of us, we don’t. Love of life, passion and joy are things we don’t even think about. Well, this weekend I have a mission for you – start falling in love with life, living passionately and joyously. How? As ever, one step at a time. Answer the questions above – what comes to mind…and what can you do this weekend to start falling in love with life, living passionately and/or living joyfully?

I see you having a weekend full of love, passion, joy and laughter.

Love

Donna.x

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Life…T’is a Serious Business

Do you remember the day when you set foolishness, silliness, ridiculousness and your sense of humour aside to become ‘grown up’? No, probably not as if we realised what exactly we’d have to sacrifice in order to be mature and adult, we wouldn’t do it! I want to know who decided that we should take life seriously? I want to know who took the absurd decision that everything that happens is a matter of life and death.

Because whoever it was they were wrong. Many of the things we get wound up and stressed about and take enormously seriously are utterly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things! One of my favourite exercises to give coaching clients is the ’so what?’ game. Someone was rude to you. So what? So that’s rude. So what? There’s a certain point at which you realise that it really doesn’t matter.

People can’t offend you unless you take offense. Events in your life can’t get you down unless you let them. Life can’t be serious unless you insist on taking it seriously. Stick your tongue out in the general direction of whatever is getting on your nerves and get on with taking life frivolously.

Love

Donna.x

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Farting Around

“I tell you, we are here on earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different.” Kurt Vonnegut

I found this quote yesterday on a card, and I’m adopting it as my favourite piece of wisdom of 2009! It always amuses me that people who enjoy their lives (or fart around) are seen as somehow ‘less than’ people who work hard, do the sensible things, are grown up, and largely miserable. What if we as a society have got it completely wrong, and life is not about the accumulation of stuff, how hard you can work, how grown up you can be? What if it is just about farting around?

Well, if this is so, I am ahead in this new world order! To farting around – hazah!

Love

Donna.x

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