I was sitting down and trying to decide what the next topic for my blog should be. Originally, I thought that I would discuss either setting up an altar or go through some of the Wiccan tools. Instead, I have decided that I will talk about the celebration of life. No matter what religion you follow, or even if you follow no religion at all, I am sure that we can all agree that life is a gift. The moment a new baby is born we recognize it as a miracle. A tiny life brimming with possibilities. If you stop to dissect the actual probability of you being born, Buddhists and Scientist agree, that it is somewhere around 1 in 400 trillion. This is based off the likelihood of your parents meeting, having a physical relationship, and one particular egg (out of 100,000 a woman produces in her fertile years) being fertilized by one particular sperm (4 trillion in a lifetime). The odds are quite staggering that you or I are even here. Phenomenal.
We can celebrate life in many ways; food, drink, balloons, decoration, and presents are a typical birthday or holiday celebration. For me, I like to celebrate life everyday. Food, friends, going for a walk in nature, sex, or a fragrant cup of coffee. These things whisper to me about the goodness there is in life. They are the little (& big) things that make all the tedious things we must do in a day, worth doing.
We all have “those” days where life is overwhelming and we start to questions what our purpose is. Your purpose is to be here. To make the most of each day. To learn. To grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. There are tools that you can use to help enrich your life and gain contentment. Here are the few of the ones that I use:
Gratitude Journal
This can be an actual notebook where you consciously right down the things that you are grateful for each day. Big or small, we can all find something to be thankful for.
Treat Yourself
This is not meant to be an excuse to go out and spend money. You can treat yourself for free at home. Froth some milk for your coffee. Give yourself a pedicure or facial. Take ten minutes to read a book with a cup of tea.
Exercise
I’m going to be honest, I hate to exercise. I used to joke, that if you see me running, you better run too because something must be chasing me. I finally started going to the gym about a year and a half ago. Begrudgingly, I drop my youngest off at school and head to the gym. I hate every moment of working out but I do it for two reasons. 1). I want to live a long and healthy life in which I am not a burden to my children and 2). It improves my mental health. When I skip the gym for a few days in a row I start to feel sluggish. It is harder for me to find motivation and I am more easily irritated. 20 to 45 minutes at the gym helps keep me toned and sane.
Let go of ego
If I could offer one piece of advice, that has improved my level of contentment more than anything else, it would be to let go of ego. This means letting go of your need to be right, stop trying to keep up with the Joneses and be happy with the person you are instead of trying to be what others want you to be.
It probably isn’t realistic to think that you can be happy everyday but you can strive to be content. Life will always be what you make of it. Go out there and make the most of yours!