While I was running in the heat and humidity today, an old favorite Bob Dylan song “Girl from the North Country” came on and I began to cry. A few steps before, I had coached myself to keep on pushing through the thick air and encouraged myself to be present, totally immersed in the moment. Because of that self-reminder and total present moment immersion, I experienced the song deeply and it moved me…literally, it kept my feet pummeling the sidewalk, even though it’s a slow and melancholy song. It filled me to the brim with emotion that caused the stream of tears from my eyes to get lost amongst the sweat on my face. It was a fleeting moment, and a reminder of the power of being fully present.
I came home from my run and continued to think about what fills me up and makes me whole. I asked myself, “Why can’t I always feel the way I felt for the duration of that 3 minute song? What keeps me from that?” Searching for answers (as I usually am!) I remembered a book I recently read about by Martin Seligman, the founder of Positive Psychology, called Flourish and ordered it on Amazon. I’m sure it will have some valuable tips and tricks to help me learn how to feel more fulfilled in my awesome life, but I still felt as though intellect wasn’t going to be the answer, because I’ve tried that so many times. I mean, how many self-help books can one girl read?
Speaking of self-help books, I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention someone who sparked this whole fulfillment conversation two days ago (I’ve just realized this!), my friend Randy Siegel who sent me his most recent book to read and endorse. I read it on the plane from Atlanta to San Antonio and felt so fully engaged and present as I read it. His authenticity and willingness to be vulnerable were inspiring and the one line of the book that triggered my fulfillment conversation was something his therapist said to him, “Randy, you’re very aware, but you’re not awake.” I asked myself, “Am I awake?”
As I strolled the Riverwalk that evening, I ‘stayed awake’ and fully experienced my five senses on my journey around the Paseo de Rio. I felt great. And again, after that experience of being fully (or at least mostly) present, I was disappointed to find myself immersed in my thoughts far away from the training room I worked in the next day. I thought to myself, “I’m on auto-pilot and am completely in outer space (or more accurately inner space!)”
Today, right before writing this, I got another dose of insight into fulfillment when I watched a wonderful TED video of Tony Robbins that a friend posted on Facebook. Watch it! You’ll love it.
I want to feel more fulfilled in my life, more alive in each moment and moved by the honesty of my emotions, with no fear of expressing them. This moment is all I have and when I give myself the gift of presence, I connect with God. God can only access me in the here and now. If I continue to focus on my past or worry about my future, I miss the opportunity to commune with the omniscient, omnipresent energy that is pure love, zest and zeal for this thing called my life.
I remember from that deep, centered and peaceful place inside of me something that Eckhart Tolle in his book A New Earth says about ‘goodness’ and replace it with today’s theme:
“You do not become fulfilled by trying to be fulfilled, but by finding the fulfillment that is already within you, and allowing that fulfillment to emerge.”
Choose in this moment to be your happiest and most fulfilled self!
Filed under: A Day in My Life, Advice for a Happy Life! Tagged: | fulfillment, joy, love, randy siegel, tony robbins, zeal for life, zest
