Are you irritated by just about everything? Do you see only the negative in any given situation, stumbling, crawling, even leaping over the sublime to persevere in your foul disposition? In today’s overcommitted fast paced social norm, it’s no wonder that our mirrors have grown dim from irritation. But it does not have to be this way. Despite the demands on our time and energy, each one of us deserves to find and even revel in our bliss.
Webster’s defines “bliss” as “the highest degree of happiness; blessedness; felicity.” Each of the foregoing words is a delight in themselves. Just saying the word felicity makes you smile and use all those muscles in and around your mouth. But, stop for just a moment and reflect on these queries. When was the last time in your overcommitted, underappreciated life that you experienced bliss? When did you last feel truly happy? When did you feel blessed? When did you last achieve a state of felicity? To those of you who actually remember feeling blissful, bravo! To the rest of you, don’t despair. In the next few paragraphs, we are going to explore a few ways to recapture and restore our bliss.
In order to take the first steps to re-connecting with our personal bliss, we must first engage in some introspection. Following are some suggestions on how to open yourself and your energy to bliss; not just a state of temporary bliss, but the true lasting feeling.
- Gratitude is a big part of rediscovering bliss.
We all have some great things in our life, so express gratitude for the wonderful blessings that you enjoy. What is there to be grateful for, you ask? Be grateful for being alive. Recognize that life is precious and that each moment spent on this side of the grass is to be lived and enjoyed to its fullest. What will you do with the today you’ve been granted?
- Loving and caring people in our lives, people we call friends, are also a part of rediscovering bliss.
Every person in our life to whom we can turn is a precious gift. Take time every day to acknowledge the people in your life. Tell them you love them. Convey to them how their presence in your life is truly appreciated, and do so generously and with sincerity with your words and through your actions.
- Educate yourself about great people, people who impress and inspire you.
Pay attention to how others have described these individuals, both who they are and what they did. Doing so will provide insight into how you may want to live your life.
- Seek out those things that bring you happiness and joy.
Pursue the positive. Look for the good in people and situations. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that every day will be filled with happiness and joy. Doing, seeing and being a source of happiness can, however, be a tool to use in reclaiming your own bliss while also teaching others, be it directly or indirectly, how to pursue and achieve their own personal bliss. You can begin to achieve this daily joy and happiness by putting on your big girl panties and brushing aside perceived and/or real affronts. Start looking for the positives in people and situations. Look for that silver lining.
- Exercise kindness daily.
Work at being kind not just to others, but to yourself as well. Temper the “self-speak” so that it is giving you positive feedback about yourself. Developing you, the person, is vital to becoming a more interesting and fascinating person to others.
- Pursue bliss every day.
Doing so makes you more attractive not only to others, but to yourself as well. Being happy contributes to the beauty of life, no matter the surroundings.
An important part of tracking your bliss progress is to keep a journal. Take a few minutes every day to note in your journal how you feel. Write about what the word bliss conjures up for you. Does it speak to you of serenity and the sounds of a babbling brook? Or does bliss mean a state of altruism achieved solely from giving to others?
What must you do today to achieve a state of bliss? Until next time, think about it, write about it and most of all, pursue it. Namaste.