Tidbits of Wisdom to inspire your unique life journey – Jeanne Loehnis, Songs For Your Spirit, LLC
Staring up at the clouds, I see blue sky and sunshine beyond the grey bumps that have taken over the scene. My first reaction is to wish the gray clouds away as they are blocking the perfection of the day. Yet I realize they are serving to keep the temperatures mild.
So I ask:
What clouds are present in your life?
What purpose do they serve?
Awhile back we started this journey. And I asked:
Are responsibility and playfulness mutually exclusive?
Four demons later, I am here to answer with a resounding, NO! I’ve had so much fun, been fully in a playful spirit, creating these blog posts for you just 72 hours after I DON’T WANT TO showed up.
What if we dared to play through life?
What if work was play?
What if our playful spirit did the work?
What if delight was the norm?
I believe the journey is all about reigniting our playful spirit, the one we were born with and which never leaves us. Truly, it only goes underground waiting for each opportunity to burst into laughter and joy, to giggle with delight, to be exposed to sunshine.
Will you play with me?
… loneliness. Yes, demon #4 on the road from responsibility to play (or, as you may have guessed, on the road from RESPONSIBILITY to playful responsibility and responsible playfulness) is loneliness.
Why? Because this road is taking us out of our comfort zones .. and … out of the comfort zone of others who expect us to be responsible. It is all too possible that others will be unable to support us on the journey, may fully abandon us, and certainly may not be ready to take the journey for themselves beside us. Sometimes when this happens, we feel lonely.
How do we deal with demon #4, loneliness?
Know that you you don’t have to be alone. Many others are on the journey – find them! Others want to be on the journey but are stuck in demon #3, fear. When you are ready, be a leader and encourage them to take a risk and join you! In the meantime, remember why you began this journey from responsibility to play.
What benefit will you receive from embracing play?
What if you don’t?
We usually think of a puddle as rainwater that was not allowed to flow naturally away. For the child in us, a puddle may be a source of delight! Puddles occur where the ground or road or path is uneven. In time, these pockets become traps for dirt and debris which, in turn, render the rainwater dirty and undesirable.
Periodically, it is helpful to identify puddle pockets in life’s foundation and take restorative action. Begin by noticing the contamination:
What ideas and beliefs no longer serve?
What practices, once supportive, now drain you?
What relationships feel stuck?
Now dive in deeper. Dare to ask:
What in me has eroded?
What will rebuild my foundation?
A small bird just fluttered in front of my window. Twice it hit the glass before giving up and flying away.
Sometimes, like that small bird, we so desperately desire a given direction that we continue willfully toward a given end despite being told “No, not an option”.
Today, become aware of ways in which the Universe is suggesting that this door is closed. Then allow yourself to be with:
Then ask:
What direction would serve me now?
Dare to go there!