Illumined Life Leadership

Happy Tuesday Summer of Well-Being readers! For those of you with school-age children, congrats on getting them out the door again and off to a new adventure! Our summer blog season is coming to a close. I have to say, though, that focusing on what makes us “well” and exploring new ways to make our well-being a priority brought an exciting spin to my summer. What about you? This week I’ll introduce you to a great friend, and a very funny guy! David Suarez, founder and lead facilitator of Interactive Training Solutions, will share how humor can be just the thing your well-being plan needs. Look for his blog on Thursday.

My family and I just finished up two weekends of hosting a garage sale. Gosh, it’s exhausting! You may be asking, “Why on earth would you have a garage sale during the summer?” Yeah…we kinda asked ourselves the same question, but the benefits certainly outweighed the negatives. It was one of those activities that wasn’t planned, and by a sheer push of energy, took us there.

Perhaps you’ve experienced the same feeling during your Summer of Well-Being? When opening certain drawers, walking into my kids’ rooms, or trying to pull something out of the shed, I felt a heaviness coming my way. That was it! I didn’t think I could take another day of looking at certain messes and just letting it slide…again! We underestimate how these “messes” affect our lives, and when we actually pay attention to how we feel when we experience them, we get it.

In thinking about the well-being of my family, here’s what our garage sale experience taught me.

1. Stuff is energy.
Our “stuff” truly is a reflection of our inner lives. I’ve always been a student of energy, which is why Feng Shui makes sense to me. We don’t have to think of it as some “weird science experiment” we’re conducting, we can simply think of it as clearing the way for new, fresh energy to come into our lives. Now, when I open my shed I smile; when I enter my son’s room I get excited about the new “man” room we’ll be creating for him soon, and when I put my daughter to sleep every night I know she’s resting in a space that will promote creativity and safety, not chaos. I’m breathing so much easier. Old, stuck energy out…new fresh energy in!

2. We choose what things mean.
This was a tough one! Do you hold on to things for a long time because they hold a special meaning? I definitely do. This time, however, I understood that I would keep these things forever if I could, instead of truly creating the open space I needed. At the end of the day, I want my inner world–the things we don’t always see–to truly reflect what I want to create in my physical world. This garage sale truly required all of us to examine how truly important all these “things” were to us. Perhaps they held a stronger meaning 10 years ago, but today they don’t represent who we are or want to be. Finding meaning and defining those things that truly are important to us is a big part of creating a well-led life. I did choose to not let certain things go, but only because what they represented matched one of my current strongly-held values. No negotiating here.

I love this poem about the process of finding meaning:

The past is dead. The future is imaginary. Happiness can only be in the Eternal NOW moment.

This sunset…This smile…This word you are writing…This pain you are feeling…This question you are asking…This omelet you are cooking…

The meaning of life is the tear of joy shed at the sight of the well-cooked omelet.

-Jere Pramuk

3. People need people.

Spend 8 hours outdoors and you’ll connect with more people than you probably want to. However, some of those connections will be special. As a coach I love to make people feel good, it’s in my DNA. So, when a few of our visitors just wanted to talk and share, not shop, that was ok. I got the impression that these individuals really needed some acknowledgment in their lives, no judging, just listening. I also experienced some of my neighbors in a new way. I got to spend time with them and learn more about them. I also very much appreciated their generosity in supporting our sale and offering us cold refreshments! Sometimes we may take for granted the amazing people who surround us (literally!) for most of our lives. They can be an extension of our family.

Our well-being doesn’t have to come from a check-list or rigid plan. It can be present for us in every moment and in every experience. Do you have an example like mine that provided you with some awesome well-being moments? I’d love to hear all about them. Please comment below.

It’s your life, lead it well.

Monique