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I’m delighted to explore this thrilled emotion. Do you recall the most recent occasion that made you feel thrilled? Though it may seem self-serving… My most recent thrill came when I got my Stayin’ In Touch series of books made available on Amazon. For those of you who may not know, I self-published this 10-book series last year but didn’t have them KDP-friendly for Amazon. Yay! Now they’re available on Amazon. These ‘emotion’ posts are my personal samples from these books. (I’m currently working through the Stayin’ In Touch – Positive Emotions book.)
Back to feeling thrilled. This feeling makes my whole body tingle with excitement and delight. It’s like all the cells and atoms that make me up resonate and tingle together; through my arms and legs, my trunk, and my soul. It’s a good feeling, isn’t it?
I think I feel thrilled more frequently than I realize. Having a name for it and putting a face on it gives me an opportunity to look around and see it more often. Isn’t it amazing that we experience so many emotions in a day and that we can change how we feel from one moment to the next?
It’s interesting to explore positive emotions. When I think about exploring different emotions, I gravitate toward less comfortable emotions. That’s where it seems the growth is. But I also think exploring positive emotions has an equal value. There is an interesting energy created by naming positive emotions. It makes them more prevalent in my consciousness. This gives my general disposition an opportunity to grab one of those to play with instead of a more negatively framed emotion.
It’s fun to feel thrilled. It’s like acknowledging an accomplishment or fulfilling a dream to feel thrilled about it. Whatever adventure brings you a thrilled feeling, feel it vigorously. It’s a great feeling!
Emotions are like color in our souls…
If you would like to explore more feelings in the Stayin’ in Touch – Positive Emotions book, click here for more information.
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You may have heard the expression, a long road to a small house. We could interpret this as a long, long journey to get to a destination. I want to look at this differently as it pertains to getting something accomplished. Remember, there are many roads to get to a destination.
When I worked in a corporate environment, sometimes I got something done in ways that didn’t fit into someone else’s mold. This was not always an accepted practice and caused some nice ruckus occasionally. There are those times, for regulatory purposes, following protocols is a must. I get that! But outside the boundaries of regulations, does it really matter how you get to your endpoint?
As a leader in an organization, you have a goal to accomplish. Said leader probably has a team to help get to the target. In the larger scope of things, regulations aside, does it matter if I use a purple binder instead of a green one? Maybe I work better with my headphones on, blocking out the surrounding chatter so I can think. Or, perhaps I take my laptop outside on a pretty day to sit under a tree, but I still get to the target. Is my way wrong, or just different?
As leaders, it is important to remember your team is there to help you accomplish, to get to a house. If they choose a paved road to a house or a grassy tundra to the same house, does it really matter? Maybe the paved road is a little longer than the tundra route. The house is most important, is it not? Choose a road and get to the house, but get to the house, that’s the most important.
Now, back to that long road to a small house. Shortcuts are not always the best idea, for sure. Sometimes, though, if a shorter road to the house still gets it done without negatively impacting the organization, is there anything wrong with that? All this to plant a seed. As a leader, be open to the gifts your team offer, even if their road is a little different from yours.
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Meeting people where they are is probably one of the simplest and most genuine things you can do in any type of relationship. We’ve all had conversations with people that don’t get us. They aren’t the most moving conversations in the world, and I, for one, walk away feeling unheard, unrecognized, and completely misunderstood.
Think about your friends and family. There are those you feel closer to than others. Now, think about the ones you feel closer to. Why do you feel closer to them? Is it because it’s their way or the highway? I think not. When someone does not see or hear you, it feels less intimate. It feels disconnected and, on some level, it feels like what’s going on with me doesn’t matter (unheard, unrecognized, misunderstood).
How about this? When I converse with someone who sees and hears me, I feel a greater connection with them. It feels closer. I feel like they are meeting me where I am. Their beliefs or ideas about topics may be drastically different from mine, and that’s okay. When they are with me and my thoughts, without pushing their own, I feel heard and understood. Doesn’t that feel great? I’m more apt to share what’s really going on inside when this door is open.
On the flip side, when I listen to them, if they are sharing something that is outside my wheelhouse, allowing them to have their belief, however different it is from mine, creates a deeper connection. There’s no need for them to be in my space in order for us to relate to each other. I like them; I like who they are, and it’s okay for them to do themselves.
There are as many beliefs about things as there are people in this world. Because we are each unique individuals, isn’t it okay for me to meet you where you are, and for you to meet me where I am? Can we be friends, colleagues, or family and have these differences? Maybe there’s something to this idea of meeting people where they are. Shall we play with it a little?
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Look around your spaces and observe your life talismans. You know, those little things you hang on to that remind you about family history, experiences you’ve had in your life, each one tells a story. As I get older, I’m finding reminders that I no longer need to keep, and others that are still warm memories about people.
Yeah, we all do it. We collect little things about the stories in our lives. Then, as we approach the ‘home stretch’ of our lives, the talismans filling our spaces become someone else’s treasure, or they find their home in a rubbish pile. What are some unique talismans you enjoy, and what’s their story?
My Grandmother sheltered a Jewish family during World War II. They shared a set of silver place settings as gratitude for her generous gift. I have a fork from that set and when my eyes gaze upon it, my heart imagines the stories of how the fork came into my possession. I don’t know all the stories, but the smaller story it represents is all about how we take care of each other.
Oh, then there’s a pair of children’s dress shoes that my older sister wore when she was quite young. My older sister died many years ago, but her little shoes remind me of the joyous gift she continues to be to me these many years later. Her little feet went places in those shoes. I was not there; I wasn’t even a gleam in my parent’s eye yet, but my sister had life in those shoes. Seems silly, I know, but those shoes keep my connection to my big sis somehow.
I came upon a shackle once upon a time that surely bound a slave once upon a time. Long before I appeared on this earth, I experience an unexplainable connection to the countless lives that were touched by such a cruel thing. I wonder about their stories, what made their hearts full of love, and the horrific drama they surely endured. I keep the talisman to remember how indelibly connected we are, and there are lives impacted by experiences we can only imagine.
Well, there are countless other little things I’ve collected through the years. As I share these talismans with others by human connection or by rubbish, these are little representations of stories that made my life what it is. Life is an interesting experiment, isn’t it?
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Two years now into my retirement, I’m learning something about passions and work life. For most of my time in the corporate working world, I liked my job, but it was always a leap away from what my heart yearned to do. Now that I’m retired, I’m completely living my dream and experiencing happiness that I never realized while I was working. My inquiring mind steps in to explore what that’s all about.
There are people in this world who are fortunate enough to be in this place during their earning years. And there are a good many of us who set our passions aside in favor of having a place to live, eat, and clothes to wear because our passions don’t quite pay the bills. I honor those of you who have found the sweet spot between your earnings and your passion. During my earning years, I didn’t know how to do that. I was so afraid to give it time to seed and grow that I paid the bills and back-burned my passions.
I experimented with weaving my passions creatively into my work life, but it was never the same. During the 40+ hours a week I spent working, I put my heart and soul into it. Now though, in my ‘happy place’ and retired after 44 years in the workforce, living my dream, I wonder how to help people get here sooner than I did. I’m sure there are countless people in the world wondering about the same thing, perhaps from different perspectives.
I wanted to put a spotlight on this for those of you who are still in the ‘earning’ part of your lives. If you are a person who wants to learn from experience, hear this: never abandon your heart! I’m inviting you to be sure there is a balance between living comfortably and living from your soul. The peace that comes from that is indescribable! May your passions live comfortably with your work – this is my wish for you!
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Life Gifts
- I send you over-flowing cups of love to restore your heart and soul.
- I send you tender, loving arms to hold you in care and love.
- I send you courage and honor.
- I send you focus as you practice setting up new routines to support your engagement with your true self.
- I send you lush green mountain meadows splattered with wildflowers for you to rest and rejuvenate your soul.
- I send you a warm, snuggly kitty to comfort your soul and remind you about the power of love.
- I send you energetic bursts of joy.
- I send you patience to allow new things to unfold positively for your life.
- I send you appreciation for caring to make healthy choices for yourself.
- I send you a cuddly blanket of appreciation for the beautiful person you are in this world.
- I send you pregnant pauses to remember how much you are loved and cared for.
- Sending you rain to nourish the earth so that the earth can nourish you.
- I send you warm nourishing rays of light.
- I send you patience and understanding, and a powerful little elf to manage all your worries.
- Sending you peace and beauty, like the glassy stillness of a lake before the breeze’s caress stirs things up.
- I send you calm as you step back into work from being off for a few weeks.
- I send you showers of strength as you walk your journey.
- Sending you buckets of patience to spill in all the places that need some—be sure to douse yourself with some.
- I send you buckets of bubbling, juicy kindness.
- I send you the lightest hint of lilac and a handful of petals.
- I send you billowing bubbles of joy.
- I send you relaxing moments filled with love and caring.
- I send you showers of strength as you walk your journey.
- I send you a warm hand to hold as you experience the array of feelings that go along with the death of your loved one.
- I send you whimsical moments that make you giggle out loud, whether or not you’re around people.
- I send you contagious child-like giggles and unstoppable smiles.
- I send you joy.
- I send you the deep, rich colors of berries to paint your soul.
- Sending you willing, loving hearts and hands to help you.
- I send you warm, comfortable rest.
- I send you giggles and chortles to accent all the moments of your day.
- I send you large bundles of gratitude for being who you are, and for being connected with me.
- I send you comfort, joy and sustenance through your retirement.
- I send you peaces to resolve the conflicts you’re experiencing right now.
- I send you light energy to charge your healthy cells and create health.
- I send you soothing cups of hot tea, your favorite music to listen to and time for you to relax and enjoy.
- I send you inspiration to put thoughts on paper.
- I send you fruit-full surprises in your journey.
- I send you moments to fill your year with acknowledgment of how truly special you are in this world.
- I send you fireworks of inspiration.
- I send you focus and energy as you write today.
- I send you showers of grace and peace.
- I send you fresh, crisp apple bites of life to bite into everyday.
- I send you comfy pillows to cradle you in love and comfort.
- I send you love.
