It’s all about joy!

Toward the end of my two-week trip to San Francisco (which was mostly for work, although there was pleasure mixed in, too), a friend told me they were surprised I was holding up so well. I laughed and replied that if it had been a year ago, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. However, at this point in my life, with what I’ve learned and who I’ve become, it’s an adventure I’ve embraced for all it’s worth.His comment and my response reminded me of something I heard James Arthur Ray speak about during one of his talks on harmonic wealth. James Ray said that while a lot of people think they want one particular thing or another, they’re not ready for the problems that come along with having those things. For example, a lot of people may think they want to become millionaires, but mentally they may not ready for a millionaire’s problems.

For me throughout my life, I’ve always thought it’d be exotic to travel and visit different places on a regular basis. However, it wasn’t until this year, when I reached a point of less resistance and flowing more naturally with life, that I was ready to take on what traveling a lot actually means. There’s mental and physical stress involved (I now know what jet lag is all about!), there’s habit adjustments that need to be made (not being able to make my own meals or work out when I want to), and other unforeseen issues that pop up that have to be dealt with. Last year, I couldn’t have done what I’m doing now. I simply wasn’t ready. However, in this same vein, I’m now wonderfully excited for what this means in terms of the things I’ll be ready for a year from now.

Stay tuned… much more joy on the way!

“…you cannot become successful. You can only be successful. Don’t let a mad world tell you that success is anything other than a successful present moment. And what is that? There is a sense of quality in what you do, even the most simple action. Quality implies care and attention, which come with awareness. Quality requires your Presence.” Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth

Last week I was in Seattle visiting my cousin for a few days. The first morning I was there, I was awakened by the incredible smell of fresh coffee brewing in the kitchen. I hadn’t set my alarm, and was naturally roused by the rich aroma that wafted through the house. Immediately I was taken back to my childhood, where every morning started that way. It was absolutely magnificent.

Two days later, finding myself with low energy, I plopped down in front of the TV and discovered a Tom & Jerry marathon in full swing. I was glued! It felt wonderful to have no agenda other than to watch the hijinks of that crazy cartoon cat and mouse for over an hour. Sweetening the deal was a bowl of animal crackers I grabbed from the kitchen. Instantly, I was six years old again without a care in the world.

There’s something very joyful and comforting about returning to childhood through sights, smells and sounds. My childhood was a happy one, so any time I’m able to awaken my inner child, it’s reason to smile.

This partial list I found on Viva Consulting had some great things reminiscent of being a kid:

• Catching the fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening
• Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, “do over!”
• Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in “Monopoly”
• You could determine if someone loved you by plucking flower petals
• The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties
• Decisions were made by doing “one potato, two potato, three potato four…”
• Nobody was prettier than Mom
• Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true
• Saturday morning cartoons weren’t 30-minute ads for action figures (and weren’t known to cause seizures)
• War was a card game
• Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin or grape-flavored cough syrup
• A lie didn’t count if your fingers were crossed
• Ice cream was considered a basic food group
• A quarter bought a pack of gum (Bubbalicious or Hubba Bubba)

* a few were edited or added to better fit my own experiences