Yo, blog readers!
Following is a short article I wrote on spec for a magazine. They said, "Thanks, but no thanks!" So, I pass it on to you here instead of there! Enjoy!
Mmmmmm… bliss. The word alone conjures up images of a warm bubble bath, phone off the hook, decadent bonbons within arm’s reach, candles all aglow on every nearby surface, and perhaps even a hunky massage therapist at your beck and call, just itching for his cue. Can you say, “Calgon, take me away”?
Unfortunately, our prevailing culture often does say we have to “get away” to experience bliss. It’s the good old “if-then” paradigm. “If I plan a great getaway vacation, then I’ll be able to relax,” or “If I get a different job/relationship/hobby, then I’ll be able to have a balanced life,” or “If I work my butt off now, then I’ll have the life I really want when I retire.” It’s a paradigm that, by its very nature, staves off bliss. Hello, counter-productive! Oh, and by the way, no guarantees that the “then” part of the equation will ever actually happen. Often, in our mad-cap, you-are-what-you-do world, it’s simply replaced by another “if.”
So what’s a girl to do?
Happily, everyday bliss isn’t far away. Working through the following three steps can lead you to a life chock full of everyday moments of bliss.
1. What’s bliss to you? First and foremost, what makes you feel “blissed out”? Completely relaxed? All aglow like those bath-side candles? Awash in the savoring of a moment? There are as many ways to feel bliss as there are women reading these words. Figuring out what’s blissful to you is the first step in feeling it more!
2. Where are the gaps? Once you know what bliss is to you, look for the ways in which you might be staving it off. Maybe part of what’s blissful to you is savoring phenomenal food. So, what’s in your fridge? What restaurants do you frequent? Where do you “if/then” yourself around food? (“If I go to that great café, then I’ll be able to savor my food.”) Maybe bliss to you is being outside. So, how many days do you spend umpteen hours behind a desk, gazing longingly out the window, feeling like you’re stuck inside? It’s easy to unconsciously limit ourselves on a daily basis by not consciously weaving in a few moments of bliss. Where are the gaps in what’s bliss to you and the choices you make each day?
3. What’s possible? Once you see where your gaps are, brainstorms some ways you can add bliss into your daily mix. Maybe you let yourself indulge in a small square of high-octane organic dark chocolate after lunch each day, or you let yourself go to the Saturday farmer’s market and buy fresh, local fruit that you savor throughout the coming week, or you start a container garden so you can have your very own fresh cherry tomatoes and basil all summer long. Maybe you start parking a few blocks farther away from the office so that every workday starts and ends with a walk. Maybe you surprise the next person who comes to your office for a meeting by suggesting you walk and talk outside instead. Maybe you promise yourself five minutes outside each morning, no matter what. The possibilities are endless!
Despite the marketing savvy of our friends at Calgon, bliss doesn’t have to be a far-off concept. It’s available right here, right now, and it comes in your size, your flavor. All you have to do is see where it might live in your life today, and step toward it. I promise, it’ll be waiting there with open arms!
Following is a short article I wrote on spec for a magazine. They said, "Thanks, but no thanks!" So, I pass it on to you here instead of there! Enjoy!
Mmmmmm… bliss. The word alone conjures up images of a warm bubble bath, phone off the hook, decadent bonbons within arm’s reach, candles all aglow on every nearby surface, and perhaps even a hunky massage therapist at your beck and call, just itching for his cue. Can you say, “Calgon, take me away”?
Unfortunately, our prevailing culture often does say we have to “get away” to experience bliss. It’s the good old “if-then” paradigm. “If I plan a great getaway vacation, then I’ll be able to relax,” or “If I get a different job/relationship/hobby, then I’ll be able to have a balanced life,” or “If I work my butt off now, then I’ll have the life I really want when I retire.” It’s a paradigm that, by its very nature, staves off bliss. Hello, counter-productive! Oh, and by the way, no guarantees that the “then” part of the equation will ever actually happen. Often, in our mad-cap, you-are-what-you-do world, it’s simply replaced by another “if.”
So what’s a girl to do?
Happily, everyday bliss isn’t far away. Working through the following three steps can lead you to a life chock full of everyday moments of bliss.
1. What’s bliss to you? First and foremost, what makes you feel “blissed out”? Completely relaxed? All aglow like those bath-side candles? Awash in the savoring of a moment? There are as many ways to feel bliss as there are women reading these words. Figuring out what’s blissful to you is the first step in feeling it more!
2. Where are the gaps? Once you know what bliss is to you, look for the ways in which you might be staving it off. Maybe part of what’s blissful to you is savoring phenomenal food. So, what’s in your fridge? What restaurants do you frequent? Where do you “if/then” yourself around food? (“If I go to that great café, then I’ll be able to savor my food.”) Maybe bliss to you is being outside. So, how many days do you spend umpteen hours behind a desk, gazing longingly out the window, feeling like you’re stuck inside? It’s easy to unconsciously limit ourselves on a daily basis by not consciously weaving in a few moments of bliss. Where are the gaps in what’s bliss to you and the choices you make each day?
3. What’s possible? Once you see where your gaps are, brainstorms some ways you can add bliss into your daily mix. Maybe you let yourself indulge in a small square of high-octane organic dark chocolate after lunch each day, or you let yourself go to the Saturday farmer’s market and buy fresh, local fruit that you savor throughout the coming week, or you start a container garden so you can have your very own fresh cherry tomatoes and basil all summer long. Maybe you start parking a few blocks farther away from the office so that every workday starts and ends with a walk. Maybe you surprise the next person who comes to your office for a meeting by suggesting you walk and talk outside instead. Maybe you promise yourself five minutes outside each morning, no matter what. The possibilities are endless!
Despite the marketing savvy of our friends at Calgon, bliss doesn’t have to be a far-off concept. It’s available right here, right now, and it comes in your size, your flavor. All you have to do is see where it might live in your life today, and step toward it. I promise, it’ll be waiting there with open arms!
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