Fall in Love With Your Life
1. Stay Optimistic (The Encouragement Manifesto)
It can be hard sometimes to see the positives. We question if our life has followed the path we thought it might - does it ever? - the world around us can be frictional and wearing. Occasionally, we slip into only focusing on the downsides, the ‘glass half empty’.
But what happens when we tip that on its head?
What happens when we drink from the glass marked ‘half full’ and deliberately set an intention to put a new way of looking at life into practice?
has done exactly that. She is seeking out new ways to love her life by finding and celebrating things that light a fire in her.We are thrilled that Debs has focused on ‘optimism’ for her contribution to The Gift of Words* project. We all have our moments when the tunnel seems long and the light is dim. We love this recipe for positive action.
* follow this link if you would like to add to this collection of encouraging words.
One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself
― Lucille Ball
I have a confession to make, so let’s get it out in the open. Although I’m a million times better at this than I was in my twenties and thirties, I can effortlessly decline into a “glass half empty”, pessimistic mindset if I’m not careful.
But, years of reframing, gratitude practices and so much more have nudged me in a more positive direction.
Here’s how I’m nudging myself forward for this year. My intention this year (and hopefully beyond) is to “fall back in love with life”.
In December last year, I was in a dark place, a little too dark for my liking. 2024 is the year I turn 60 and I was so tired of feeling unanchored, purposeless. Worthless. I sensed a shift towards something lighter was needed. Through my daily writing practice, one day I was surprised to find myself writing that I needed to shift to help me fall in love with my life, to help me embrace an acceptance of what is and release the expectations of what, where, and how I should be.
I was here, after all, because of the choices I’d made.
“Here” as a space (physical and metaphorical) isn’t actually that bad. In fact, when I really pause to look at it, the way it has come together is pretty damn good. Not how I thought it would be, but good nonetheless.
Can I embrace the life and health I’ve been gifted and really live? Whoa! Is that a shift to a “glass half full”?
The old cynic in me dismisses the insights. Another part of me asks: “OK, how do I fall in love with life then?”.
Find things that light a fire in me!
How exactly?
Well maybe, I can fall in love with the way I’ve chosen to live my life, with the whole and the components of it.
The practices I engage in.
The people I connect with.
The places I visit, the place I live.
Where I choose to expend my energies.
Actively seeking out experiences that help me fall in love with life.
My track record with love is appalling. But suddenly, I want to capture those feelings that come with falling in love: the letting go, that inner buzz, a sense of connection, delighting in small joys, lightening up, being playful and spontaneous … I want to say, and mean “I love life”, or more to the point, “I love my life”. There is also a hope that by falling in love with my life, I’ll fall a little more in love with myself. And keep building on that connection to “me”.
But how do I make it work on a daily basis? That’s always the thing, isn’t it? It’s all very well to set a sweeping, grand intention for the year. But for it to take hold, to have meaning, and to permeate the fabric of life, it has to come into our attention every day.
Here are two things I’ve come up with to include in my daily routine to remind me to actively seek out more of both the smaller moments and bigger experiences.
I journal every morning before anything else. A prompt has emerged over the last few months, that seems to be working, and keeping the intention in my focus. “What ‘falling in love with life’ moments can I experience today?” I’m choosing to do this before the day begins, to have the intention of holding a more optimistic outlook on the day ahead. 8 times out of 10, I can find something that lights that fire in me. Some days, I cannot. That’s OK.
I’m also making a list at the beginning of each month of “falling in love with life” experiences that I can look forward to. These are events and outings I’ve already booked. As the month unfolds, I add other spontaneous moments to the list as they happen!
There is also a third, a year-long project, which you can read about here.
That’s my story of being more optimistic for 2024 and hopefully beyond. I thought I’d share this story with the readers of Feasts and Fables Encouragement Manifesto. For me it aligns with their value of ‘Stay Optimistic’ but it also touches on ‘Focus on the Positives’ and ‘Share Inspiration'.
If you’re feeling jaded, cynical or just plain bored with life, it might just be something to pique your curiosity.
What falling in love with life moments can you experience today?
Debs is a storyteller. This is her Substack story:
… my hand-made art maps and their related stories (both fiction and real) are my heart connection, the way I want to connect with a community both on and off line. I want to inspire myself and others to tell our stories visually, to create a legacy of visual memoirs for ourselves and our families. To slow down and remember our lives. Oh, and have some fun too.
The stories I tell, the art maps I share and how the maps fit together will depend on decisions that we make as a collective. I also hope that you may also begin to map your own life as a way to support telling your stories and those of your family and ancestors as we navigate on the trip that Dante called ‘our life way’.
We do hope you’ll peek in.
Oh, my goodness! So excited to see my words here and how beautifully you've framed them, Barry. Thank you so much. I feel ridiculously optimistic today. 😊 Absolutely honoured to be in you Gift of Words gallery.
Inspiring! ❤️