Adding A Little Zest To Life

At the beginning of the year, I received a random card at a Seattle Unity service that was entitled zeal. I hadn't really used this term before though but I immediately liked the sound of it. I had already set an intention to have more fun and be more playful, because I found myself getting really serious and not having much fun as a result, so this card reinforced that intention.

That is about the same time when the Fun-A-Day project appeared out of the blue and was like an answer to the winter blues I had been facing. I had SO MUCH FUN during the month of January creating something new each day and posting it on my blog as Daily Creativity! And this started a daily habit or practice for me, of posting a little something each day, like a reflection, a photo, a short poem, or an inspiring quote. I have had a lot of fun sharing and posting everyday on my blog and one of the most fun and creative parts is brainstorming about a new theme for the month or sometimes just listening to my inner voice and focusing on what I need to focus on in the coming month.

So this month, I have chosen Zest & Zeal. I intend to bring more awareness to the art of having fun and how to add more zest and zeal to everyday life. This can be anything really and I can't wait to see where it leads. I really had NO IDEA that joining the Fun-A-Day Challenge back in January would lead to all these different daily practices each month--February brought Abundance, March brought Self-Love, April brought Grace, May brought Surrender, and June brought Goodness. I love that I can sum up 2014 in these beautiful words, actions, intentions, and practices--creativity, prosperity, self-compassion, graceful living, letting go, and owning my goodness.

And now I'm adding a little more zest and zeal to my days by choosing to focus on:

lively feelings of enjoyment and enthusiasm that increases energy in pursuit of a cause or an objective

And my cause or objective is to be more playful and recognize and honor all the zest and zeal already in my life. :) Just in the past 2 days, I've found zeal in nature through discovering a beautiful pond filled with momma ducks navigating through the lilypads and dragonflies hovering just over the surface.

I have a feeling that I'll be finding zest and zeal everywhere and I can't wait to share with you what I discover this month. :)

Where do you find zest and zeal?

Moving My Goodness

Do you ever get home from work or school and feel so tired you just don't want to do anything? I've felt this way many times but yesterday I was listening to the radio, to the Debra Silverman show, on my way home and Debra talked about the importance of moving our energy. So I decided, instead of going home and lounging on the couch--because after all, I did deserve to rest, I went for a walk instead. And lo and behold after moving my energy around and breathing in fresh air, I felt more energetic and was able to do some grocery shopping and clean the house a bit before I started feeling tired again. And even after all that activity, because I focused on the fact I was still moving, I felt more energetic than the day before when I went home and just sat on the couch checking Facebook. (Although one thing I've learned from my self-compassion practice is that some time to do something just for you that you enjoy is totally okay too.) But checking my phone or computer while sitting doesn't cultivate more energy within me. Actually moving my body is what brings me energy, even when I don't feel like it. Especially then. 

After having major surgery almost 2 years ago--thank goodness it's in the past now--I definitely got out of the habit I'd formed the year before of regularly moving, and I still don't feel the same amount of energy or flexibility as before I got struck with chronic pain. So the simplicity of this reminder to just move our energy is very accessible to me. Not intimidating, like going to the gym or even to a zumba class--I'm sad to report that I still haven't gone back to zumba. :(

And let's face it: much of what we do is sitting, so I'm beginning to think that when I feel tired and as I'd say in Spanish, sin ganas de hacer nada (not feeling like doing anything), it's really my body crying out for a little attention. She wants to move. Jump around. Walk. Run. Dance. Jiggle with laughter. Sing. Whatever sounds doable to move energy around. I didn't bring special walking shoes with me today or yesterday; I just started walking. (Luckily my sandals are pretty comfortable.) And I didn't have to walk a 5K to feel a shift in my energy. Just a 30 minute stroll. Or it could have been a 5 minute long laugh--that sounds refreshing too! It'll really make you feel better, trust me. :)

And isn't energy really just tangible goodness? The kind of goodness you feel in your body when you're having fun, the kind of goodness you sense when you're excited and filled with hope about something, the kind of goodness when you feel love and joy fill your heart. If there's a pretty easy way to access more of that, sign me up. I'm moving more then!

And for those of you who physically can't walk or dance because of pain or an injury, because I've been there, laughing really gets energy moving too. And it's super fun! Singing does too!

So let's all get out there and move our goodness around! :-)

Naming Our Mastery

As I was typing my name on my iPhone just now, the word "Master" popped up as the autocorrect kicked in, and it made me smile. I don't mind being called "Master." :) (Autocorrect doesn't usually pick flattering titles like that!) And then I started thinking about my goodness project this month and asked myself:

What am I a master of?

Have you ever thought about this before? Can you automatically name a few things that you are the master of? I'm not used to this idea so it's taking me a little longer to process and so I've decided to reflect tonight for my weekly wellness blog on the concept of mastery.

So to really begin to answer this question, I'd like to think of the actual definition of mastery. When I googled the term, Google came up with this definition:

Mastery = Comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment

This also reminded me of the Spanish translation for master, which is maestro, meaning teacher also.

So what area of life do I have comprehensive knowledge or skills or accomplishments?

A few are popping into my head:

• Being bilingual in Spanish
• Helping others through creativity and resourcefulness (two of my Dependable Strengths)
• Being dedicated to self-care and stress management
• Showing daily commitment to a cause, such as blogging every day this year, in addition to flossing every day this year, writing what I'm grateful for every night, and affirming/meditating/praying every morning.
• Thinking of creative activities to do with friends (and hopefully more workshops soon)

Recently I heard a similar idea of naming what you’re really good at in a book I’ve been listening to called May I Be Happy, by Cyndi Lee. The author, Cyndi used this technique in a yoga teacher training to help her students feel more confident. They were trying a very difficult pose and by lightening the air with stories of the fun things they do well, they felt better about trying something new. 

Brilliant really. A primary foundation of the Dependable Strengths process as well.

Here are a few other fun things that I’m a master at:

• Taking frame-worthy nature photographs on the fly
• Being the unofficial family photographer for several of my close friends :)
• Being able to make a pretty nice collage while in my car :)
• Making really tasty garbanzo bean cupcakes
• Throwing some pretty fun parties over the years
• Learning dance choreography quickly
• Sensing stress in others and offering ideas for what might help them feel better
• Being a cat whisperer :)

What are you a master of?

A New Chapter of Goodness

Two days ago on June 1st, I decided to focus on recognizing and really owning my goodness for this month. This is something I've been thinking about for awhile now and something that was articulated into words during an inspiring life coaching session with the amazing Lena Meyer back in March. As wonderful as it sounds though, this has been a bit of a difficult topic for me, so I felt it was important to practice it this month as an act of cultivating more self-love, self-compassion and self-confidence in my life. And very appropriately, just yesterday, I started my new job! So this added boost of confidence, care and compassion is greatly welcomed as I put myself out there, take risks, try new things, and join a new community of colleagues.

I created a special collage (pictured above) in late March to help me remember this mantra of owning my goodness and it also serves as the cover of my first inspirational collage notebook. I also say this to myself every morning and every night as a way to ground myself in my goodness and remember all the good coming to me and coming from me everyday. I have found it soothing as well when I'm feeling frustrated or grumpy.

But now, this month, I would like to fill this "goodness" with actual examples and details--stories or memories or qualities that I possess that I can call upon to remind myself of my goodness. That is why I have created a whole page to this topic and why I'm writing about it each day this month. So far this year, I have written about creativity in January, abundance in February, self-love in March, grace in April, and surrender in May. And I feel each of these topics has had a great influence on how I view life now. So I am confident that focusing on filling in the details of what goodness really means to me and what my own unique goodness looks like and feels like will only bring more goodness into my life and make me more aware of the goodness that comes from within as well.

When I focus on a significant topic each day, a habit is formed and a greater awareness develops. That is why I know recognize so many different opportunities in life to use my creativity. I recognize how abundant the whole world is and how abundant my spirit is as well. I continually focus on strengthening my self-love muscle as this is a difficult muscle to tone and needs constant maintenance. My practice of grace and surrender are also continual focuses in my life and I see more and more ways that grace and surrender show up in my life now--or at least the need for grace and surrender in order to live with ease.

Each of these daily practices this year are actually cumulative--they truly build on each other and it seems that the topic from the month before becomes so interconnected with the current month. I enjoy this focus because before, I would research random topics, because I love researching and reading about wellness, but get overwhelmed by the wealth of information available to me. Now I feel I am really getting to a more unique space where I am creating the resources at times because I can't find other information about what I want to research. I know from writing a senior honors thesis in college that this is the sign of an available and needed subject to write about because there are not many--if any other sources out there on the topic.

So for Day 1 of my goodness practice this month, I found a definition of the word "goodness" that helped me begin the process of recognizing, looking for, and owning my goodness, and goodness all around me. And one of the words that really stuck with me is "essence." What is my true essence? And what does that mean? When you strip away all of life's stressors and all of your memories and pain and trauma, who are you underneath it all? During experiences of loss and health crisis, I was given the chance to see my true essence, what was underneath all the gunk, and at first I was surprised by all the strength and joy and creative energy I found there, but now I'm moving into a space and time when I can write about my essence and not feel as bashful or afraid of exposing my true nature in a public setting, and my intention is to feel as comfortable about these parts of me as I am about my eye color.

What's underneath all the gunk for you? Can you find your true essence? Your unique goodness? Keep looking if you don't see it at first. And if you feel comfortable, let me know what you find.