The last month or so has been interesting for me.

I’ve been fighting this overwhelming feeling of ennui. There has been little no spark, no excitement and even less drive to move toward the things that traditionally would excite me.

This is very much out of the ordinary for me. I wasn’t quite sure what to do about it. I vibrated/bouncing around trying different things to figure out what the blockage was. Was I depressed? Did I lose my lust for life somewhere? Had I reached the peak of my life and it was now all just downhill for me?

I was stumped.

The breakthrough came a couple days ago after a conversation with my little sister. She played the role of my spiritual advisor and was able to give me some practical suggestions which I jotted down in my google calendar as I talked to her in the car at a red light.

Rest. Yoga. Nature. Remove the pressure – stop judging yourself. Take the pressure off. Try to be still. Put [your] hands over [your] heart and breathe into [your] heart…then talk to my heart..with gratitude speak to your heart. Don’t rush. set your intention for the day – asking for whatever it is you need.

Just some background on me: I’m not the biggest fan of anything that can’t be tested empirically. Things that don’t make sense to me in an analytical frame of mind I often “poo-poo” and dismiss as unworthy of consideration.

However…I was desperate. I knew I was unhappy but wasn’t sure why. Financially things were going well. I was finally learning that money’s utility was limited when it came to creating happiness. I was letting go of my tight grip on my budget and focusing more on creating the experiences that I valued. Relationally I had (maybe too many) options.

But, I was willing to try just about anything. And I had read studies where the value of walking outdoors was demonstrated on things like depression.

So I got serious about taking my sister’s advice. I rested. I took walks in nature, allowing my mind to get lost in the sounds of the creek and the bounce of the suspension bridge.

I breathed into my heart and asked for clarity. I stopped making judgements about where I was and tried to be more present.

And weirdly enough, I started to feel better.

I realized there were some areas of friction in my life that I had the power to address, but that they would just require courage.

I realized there some relationships that needed to end. Some just needed to be adjusted to fit where I was currently and that I needed to have faith in my vision for my life. Just realizing that I had the power to say no to things that were taking up space and persisting  because of a type of life situational inertia was super liberating.

We don’t have to acquiesce to the status quo. We don’t have to do things the way that we’ve done them for the last week, month, year, decade. We can change. It may not happen overnight but with time, focus, and attention we can prune out the things that don’t make us ecstatic and become more focused on enriching the areas that do.

Get active about creating the life you want to see yourself lead.

Fly or Fall

-OFO