During my readings for my teacher training, I became enamored with the concept and the word: "illuminated." That concept of feeling lit up, without and within, and letting that light around you and in you fill everything you do.
That is not to say that my life is illuminated or illuminating. I am far from that concept of being illuminated; I’m certainly no saint. I drink two cups of coffee every morning just to get out the door. Chocolate and my otherwise healthy diet often have a tête-à-tête. I usually get mildly depressed during our long northeast winters.
Still, the goal is to feel content, and that contentment comes from being purposeful — but not perfect — on this earth.
I couldn’t let go of that concept, even as I let go of my career to go in a direction of serving others’ health and wellness. Here are some thoughts on how to light up the world around you and feel light within you:
1. Find Your Own Joy
That is your foundation. We can’t give outwardly if we are stuck in our own stuff.
Find what you love to do and the way to give it to others will reveal itself.
2. Work Hard
No one said that doing what you love is easy. In my experience, going down that road is probably the harder of the paths because we are not — nor do we need to be — starving martyrs.
You may have to tiptoe into what you love, keeping a tether to a day job just to survive.
3. Take Breaks
Get plenty of physical and mental rest. Nothing dims our inner light more that dipping too deep into the well without replenishing.
Take vacations, even tiny ones, take walks, and take time with those you love.
4. Give to Others
There is no brick stronger to build that understanding than to find some small way to give to another person. Both directly and indirectly that giving outwardly serves to unite two beings, which fills both. It is satisfying in finding the tiniest ways to make someone else’s day better.
Finding that illumination is not something we’ll find on another plane. It is here and now, it is in you and around you. You only need to strike the match.
How do you work to feel happy from the inside out? Share with us in the comments below!
