Many of you who have worked hard to master your own vibration confessed to me that It almost felt sacrilegious to say you had a great year in 2020. I know the feeling. I had a great year too, in spite of all its challenges. Of course, none of us were happy about all the suffering. We weren’t happy about the illness, job loss, fear, arguing, racial injustices, political bickering, or any of that. We were happy because we chose to make the best of the moments we were handed, rather than fighting life or focusing on the problems we couldn’t change. We gave ourselves permission to enjoy our days, even in spite of the external world’s challenges. In doing so, we were better able to assist others.
I don’t think I have ever worked harder than I did last year. I answered thousands of emails a week, helped, healed, soothed, and did what I could for people in need. I talked to my family several times a week because it became increasingly apparent to all of us that our close relationships mattered here and now. With death in our face on a daily basis, it highlighted the importance of living fully.
I didn’t sleep much. But I did make it a priority to take care of myself in many other ways, so I could be in a high vibe for those I serve. I made it a priority to gaze with Braco online every chance I could because the more of us who stand in the light, each in our own way, the lighter the world will be. I felt love flowing strongly last year, and even more so this year – not because the world handed it to me, but because I chose to make the most of the situations given.
I‘m enjoying this year even more, even in spite of the emotional intensity, the bickering, virus variants, mounting tensions, volcanoes (and people!) blowing, etc. I decided in January that I was going to work on mastering my ability to focus. The moment I feel off, I stop in my tracks and shift my mind towards something that feels better. I pick a random object and “flow love” as I’ve described. I’m taking care of myself, doing work remotely, organizing my house, gardening, and looking forward to getting back to crafts which I once really enjoyed. I’ve been choosing to focus on what gives me joy, rather than what would easily pain me, and God knows there’s quite a lot going on in the world that would pain me if I chose to give it primary attention.
Not too many of us learned that we can give ourselves permission to be happy even when things appear to be going “wrong.” I was happy despite banging up my knee earlier in the year and now it’s healed. I’ve been happy inside myself in spite of people being unkind. I’ve been happy in spite of those I care about having physical problems. I am not happy because of anyone’s pain. I’m happy because I know that if I choose to focus on things that give me joy, and think thoughts that give me joy, and do things that give me joy then I can be a greater influence for good in all areas.
So if you ever feel guilty about feeling good, now is the time to rethink that. In the words of Marianne Williamson, from her wonderful book, A Return to Love:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Give yourself permission to be happy.
Here are a few pointers to help you enjoy your life no matter what:
1. Challenge your assumptions about happiness
On a piece of paper write down, “I can be happy when” and then, in a stream of consciousness fashion, write down what comes to mind. It may be a mix of deeper truth and old assumptions. It can be very revealing to do this exercise.
Question your assumptions. If you don’t think you can be happy until the world looks better, until covid is gone, until someone is nice to you, until you get the new job, new guy, new girl, new house, new … as yourself, “Why not?”
Why not enjoy today?
2. Keep a running list of things, thoughts, etc., that you enjoy
Keep a list or better yet keep a journal of things you love and thoughts that delight you and quotes that inspire you. I once made “The Book of Happy Thoughts” with random thoughts and quotes that made me smile. I found it the other day and smiled again!
It is good to have a tangible reminder of things, thoughts, people, qualities, and situations that you enjoy so when you get in a lower vibe, it serves as a great reminder that joy can be found here and now.
3. Stop looking at “Can’t” and start looking at “Can”
There are a lot of things we want to experience or do or have that we can’t experience, do, or have right now in this given moment. Maybe you don’t have the time, the money, the desire, the security, or whatever it is you need to do something or experience something you want. Maybe someone isn’t cooperating with your vision of who they should be. It is unhappy to focus on all the “can’t-do” and “can’t have” things in life. Not only are these thoughts unpleasant, if give the chance to spin around in your mind for awhile, they easily lead to tantrums which feel even worse!
Instead, focus on what you can do and what you can enjoy. More than any era on earth, ever, there are thousands of things we can enjoy. We have the whole world and anything we want to learn at our fingertips. We can “travel” anywhere we want just by going on youtube. We have the spiritual skills to dive inwards and bliss out. We can take a walk, make a nice meal, chat with a friend, read a good book, etc. Some days it might even be enjoyable to wallow in comfortable self-pity – if that’s a vibrational step up from where you’re at! The bottom line is that focusing on what we “can’t” do, have, or experience makes us miserable, while focusing on what we “can” makes us happy.
Care about how you feel. Give yourself permission to feel good and interestingly enough, you’ll have more and more things, people, and experiences that you can enjoy easily showing up in your life.
While the angels never want us to fake how we feel, they do want to give us the tools to feel better. We all have that choice. It makes sense to exercise it, best we can, and to practice shifting old habits that say. “we can’t enjoy life until…” to new ones that say, “Give yourself permission to enjoy life here and now to the best of your ability.”
There is no selfishness in this whatsoever, only a desire to live in love with your own life and therefore to be a bright shining light in a world that needs its lighthouses!
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