Nourish Your Life
This is my fourteenth post in a series, where each Monday (if possible) I will post about a point of reflection or insight that I will use to reflect and meditate on during the week. In order to make it a bit more focused and interesting, I will attempt to do this with topics beginning with letters from A to Z. I have often found that having a specific topic to reflect and/or meditate on during the week really lends itself to interesting insights and growth, because you not only have several days to reflect and meditate on the topic, but you have several days to put any lessons and insights that you discover to work in your every day life. For those that follow me on Twitter (@JasonLivingNow) I will try to write updates as the weekly topics come up during meditations, moments of reflection, or just during everyday life. To view the current and previous entries in this series, please visit the: Reflections and Insights A Through Z section.
N= Nourish Your Life: I have noticed, that most people tend to focus on what we “have” to do in our lives, rather than the things that we “want” to do. Therefore a great deal of time and energy is spent on the mundane aspects of life, rather than on the things that bring us happiness and joy.
This can lead to the mentality of just “phoning it in”, or “going through the motions” when it comes to life. In order to prevent this, I have found it helpful to make sure that I set aside time each day for things that I want to do, things that nourish my life and bring me happiness, so that the mundane things don’t start taking over. I have basically tried to make the things I want to do, part of the things that I have to do, so that the things that bring me happiness don’t get pushed aside when life gets busy or hectic.
I have found that setting aside time for reading, writing, meditating, and spending time with friends and family, helps to keep me balanced and sane. These things bring me a sense of peace and joy in my life, and if I let them go when things get busy, my life quickly seems chaotic and unbalanced.
In addition to just enjoying life more and being happier, I have also found that by making time for the things that I enjoy doing, I can better focus on work and other tasks that I have to do, because I am more mentally and emotionally fresh, than I would otherwise be.
“Take a step back, evaluate what is important, and enjoy life.” – Teri Garr
Practical Tip: Spend some time thinking of 4 or 5 things that really bring you a sense of happiness and peace, those things that nourish your life. Once you have identified those things, make sure that you set aside daily or weekly time to enjoy those things, so that you can nourish your life, and enjoy living in the now.
I would love to see your thoughts and comments on what brings nourishment to your life, and what you have done, or plan to do, in order to spend more time doing the things that truly make you happy. If you wish to use the topic of living a nourished life as a point of reflection during the week, I would love for you to share any thoughts or insights that come up.
Please come back next week for the next installment of this series, and as always if you enjoyed what you read, please share on social network sites, subscribe to this site, and share this site with others!
Also please check out my book, “The Path: Using the Religions of the World as a Guide to Personal and Spiritual Development.” (Click on the book cover to view on Amazon.com)
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Nice writing, Jason
One of my favorite meditations is:
The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered:
“Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
We spent far too much time NOT doing exactly what you suggest:
we do not appreciate the present. Life should be lived in two ways, that we always work because it is fleeting and short, and also that we should not be stuck in the past or always looking to the future.
Good reminder. It’s so easy to slip into filling the day with chores, forgetting that most of them will wait for me to take a more rewarding time out.
Hi Jason!
Thanks for the post. Our life does need some nourishment from time to time. You have mentioned some practical yet wonderful ways to do so.
Sayori
Touche…well done…this is so important for a well balanced life. For me, reading, writing, friends (i’m about to go off to lunch with 4 friends right now) trips in the car to lovely places, coffee with family/friends, meals out/at home with family/friends…..and meditation and mindfulness practices are what nourishes me. BFN (bye for now) Leanne
I believe living in the now is a reflection of the future. Why should everything change if, you don’t know how to live?
I really love what you had to say about trying to merge what you have to do into what you want to do!! When what we have to do is done with love, gratitude and purpose, even the mundane things (doing laundry, paying bills, cooking dinner, meeting with clients, etc.) become meaningful and delightful. And, taking time out for the activities that feed the soul rejuvenate and help us to become more grounded and inspired in all we do. What a really great post, Jason!!