Loving the Earth - Enjoying Life

Enjoying Life

Loving the earth must include enjoying your own life on earth.

From that place of loving yourself and your own life, you can

then give more love to the earth and to other people.

I think it was the Dalai Lama who commented on the

importance of enjoying life as we go along, so that when

we are near death and look back on it, we can enjoy it all

over again!

Just imagine a world in which everyone enjoyed their work and loved being with their friends and families. Unfortunately, in my experience, having fun seems to be enormously under-rated with many people quick to mock or deride those of us who are enjoying ourselves. So, I have decided to dedicate an entire page to this subject in the hope of spreading some joy around the world. You might also like to make up your own list of favourite things - refer to it often and endeavour to fill your life with those things.

I offer you the following as ideas:

Walk in nature and bring fun and a sense of freedom to your walking

For example, if you pass old trees, hug them; if you’re by the sea, have a paddle! You can have a game with your partner to see who has the funniest walk. It’s particularly funny if you’re trying to do this without other people seeing you. My partner and I regularly have races on the beach - I usually shout ‘Go!’ when he’s somewhere behind me. Such ‘cheating’, if I can call it that, makes me feel more child-like and is somehow more fun. I love to run with my arms and legs flailing, laughing out loud at the sheer joy of it! We are helped along by our dog who gets very excited and usually out-runs the pair of us!

On a similar note, it’s fun to have piggy-back rides and even more fun to tell the funny stories afterwards - like the time he threw me over his shoulder, lost his balance and we both fell in the water! Or, the time we were struggling to get me over a high fence as it was just too high and awkward for him to lift me. We made it in the end, only to find a large, open exit about 3 feet along!

Having a fun dog to walk with really does increase the enjoyment of a walk for me.

Whatever is going on in your life, it’s hard to feel down when you’re with a dog

who gets such joy out of fetching a toy. It’s thoroughly uplifting to watch him - he

will even throw it for himself and plays games with us, pretending to offer it to us,

then taking it back at the last moment! Pure joy!

Watch comedies and laugh

Being serious can become a habit - it is positively expected in a lot of schools and workplaces; goes hand-in-hand with many of our modern-day challenges; and is even rife amongst spiritual and ‘new age’ people where there is so much emphasis on ‘personal responsibility’ and ‘working through your stuff’. Comedy DVDs can be a great antidote to all of this. My personal favourites at the moment include The I.T. Crowd, Lee Evans, Michael McIntyre, Sarah Millican, Kevin Bridges, Gavin & Stacey, Would I Lie To You? and Absolutely Fabulous.

Play Games

I’m a big fan of planning when it comes to having people round - don’t just throw things together, plan for some fun! I once went to a party and just before it started to flag someone shouted out, “BRING OUT THE HATS!” A large box of hats and wigs appeared which we all put on before carrying on dancing. There is something fun about dancing with a straight, middle-aged man who is conservatively dressed, apart from a long, blond wig! A friend of mine used to have regular, themed, fancy dress parties which included weeks of planning - even the flat was dressed up. People loved them and are continuing to enjoy them today through their memories of them.

As far as board games go, current faves in my household are Articulate and Pictionary. These are best played with a group of people, which motivates us to invite people round. Hats are good for this too and leftover Christmas crackers or home-made ones by children work well.

I know a lot of people might read this and scoff at the thought of planning for fun, as though that takes away from the fun or is somehow a strange thing to do. But think about it - what’s important to you? What will become a happy memory for you? Sure, there are times when it’s nice to be invited round to friends’ houses to watch TV, but not every time! Personally, I’d rather spend an evening engaging with loved ones and enjoying their company.

Listen

Be interested in other people who are uplifting, open to laughter and have positive stories to tell. I’ve noticed that the most challenging people to be around also tend to be the most unhappy. I find it best to keep a distance from people who are depressing, draining or bullying. How much nicer it is to spend time with people whose company we enjoy! Be aware of how you feel when you’re around people - you really don’t need to spend your life feeling uncomfortable.

Mirror work

Mirror work is well known in therapeutic, new age and pagan circles. I discovered a version of it as a teenager when I used to spend a lot of time looking in the mirror. It started as a reassuring thing (checking myself out - typical teenage stuff) and evolved, until I would completely forget my awkward self, I was so busy in my hilarious ‘mirror world’. Looking in the mirror, I might start by thinking about something mundane that had happened or might happen, and that would evolve into funny scenarios, with different characters and voices. I was interrupted one day by my sister listening at the door and I suddenly realised that I had been talking and laughing out loud for some time! I wasn’t known for being especially funny but I can remember telling my friend at the time that I was the funniest person I knew! And I was! I certainly found this mirror work to be hugely uplifting.

Since then, I have taken part in all sorts of personal development workshops and courses and I know that mirror work is thought by many people to be extremely beneficial - just smiling at yourself in the mirror can be uplifting, as can talking positively to yourself, doing funny gestures and laughs (“HA! HA! HAAAAAAA!” etc.), and dancing (imagine you’re John Travolta on the dance floor!)

Look out for the joy in life

I’ve been really enjoying the birds singing in the garden this year, actually, I always

do, but this year we have a bird which sings to the tune of ‘Barbie Girl’! Admittedly,

this is not my favourite song, but it is funny to hear a bird singing something that

sounds like, “I’m a Barbie Girl!” and “Let’s Go Barbie!” (sing along if you know it!)

I’ve found that the more I focus upon enjoying life, the more I have attracted enjoyable experiences and happy people. Some months ago, some local children started putting home-made ‘newsletters’ through our door. They’re filled with colourful drawings and mad stories about the shenanigans of an elephant and a seal. I find I look forward to the school holidays now as I know we will probably be getting some newsletters and I love receiving them and putting them on our fridge - everyone who sees them loves them! We don’t know the children and don’t know why they chose us - I put it down to the universal law of attraction.

On a similar note, a few weeks ago, a lady I’d never seen before stopped me in the street and asked me if I like chocolate. What a question! For a cynical second, I thought she might be a market researcher, but I stopped and talked to her anyway (I REALLY like chocolate!) She went on to tell me that she’d just won a box of chocolates but was trying to lose weight and would I like them??!! They were even vegetarian! I felt truly blessed.

Love your food

I love food! I love eating food and I also love creating beautiful dishes

which are a feast of colour for the eyes, aromas for the nose, tastes for the

tongue and love for the tum! I am passionate about food and eating regular,

home-cooked, organic, healthy, love-filled meals. I love nourishing other

people and ‘sharing the love’. I believe in the old adage that ‘you are what

you eat’ and that if you enjoy eating good food, you feel good. We have to

eat everyday so it makes sense to me that we enjoy doing this and maximise this opportunity to nourish ourselves and the ones we love. For me, this also means eating at the table as much as possible (as opposed to zoning out in front of the TV.) An ideal meal for me includes a beautifully laid table, with a nice cloth, candles (flowers and crystals are nice too), beautiful food blessed with a prayer, and good conversation with people I love.

Other ideas include: picnics, dips, party food (not too beige please!), home-made cakes and food with smiley faces, love-hearts or other lovely messages.

Dancing

I’ve already mentioned this but thought it was worth it’s own section. I’m a big fan of home discos but whatever your favourite tunes are - put them on and dance with joy!

Simplify your life

I really can’t emphasize the importance of clutter clearing enough. I don’t mean

just clearing your junk, but anything which has been hanging around you and not

serving you; anything which brings you down or distracts you from enjoying life.

This could be debt; unfiled tax returns; unpaid bills; unfinished DIY jobs; clothes which need mending or dry-cleaning; people who make you feel bad; work you hate; drinking too much; a goals list which is far too long for one life; phone calls, post or emails you need to reply to, file or block... the list goes on. Work out what’s important to you and clear the rest as best you can. Also, when you buy less and enjoy the simple things more, you don’t need to earn as much money, so you don’t need to work yourself into the ground to pay for things, so you have more energy and enjoy life more...

If you’d like some more ideas, please come back soon. Alternatively, please go and enjoy your life!