Do more of what you love

It sounds simple, but we don't always know what we love to do. Most people don't do much at all, and some have forgotten what brings them joy. As kids you don't have to think about what you want to do, you just do it. Carl Jung says that your purpose in this world, what you're supposed to pursue with your unique god-given abilities, can be traced back perfectly in your life once you take the time to remind yourself what you did and have always done that brought you the most joy and sense of fulfillment.

In other cases, we know what we love to do but we create excuses for why we can't or shouldn't spend more time pursuing them, whether it's because they're too "childish" or unimportant or not worth pursuing because they're taking away from your day job or relationships, etc. I think we worry too much about what other people will think of us if we pursue our passions, even if that's just starting to publicly share them more without the intention of starting a business or anything, but simply for the act of doing them for enjoyment.

The reality is that most if not all of the people who actually end up judging you are the ones who are afraid to pursue their own dreams in the first place. Judgment is a mirror. We are all living the same human experience in our own unique ways, and when we judge, it's simply a reflection of what we're unsatisfied with in our own lives.

To be clear, judging is ok. It's a part of being human. It's actually the greatest reminder that we are human. We're made to think that we need to be Godly or christ-like all the time in order to be good people, but that's a contradiction within itself because we're humans, so we experience all the human emotions and thoughts that come with it, including judgment. Judgment of others and of ourselves. It's an opportunity to come back to leading with love and compassion, first recognizing that we are humans capable of judging and putting others down, then being compassionate with ourselves to think such thoughts and not repeat a cycle of judgment back onto ourselves, and then coming back to love and empathy that everyone is living their own life with their own battles.

When we do more of what we love, we show others that it's ok too. So not only are we doing something that brings us joy and potentially makes us nicer human beings for experiencing more joy in our lives and spreading that joy through our interactions, but we become an example for others to pursue their own sense of fulfillment.

In yoga we say to leave our lives at the door, all of our responsibilities, to-do lists, stress, and trust that they'll be right there waiting for us when we're done with the intention of giving our mind a break to rest into our bodies where we can experience our true nature of feeling. Feeling our heartbeat, our breath, or muscles as they stretch through challenging postures, all as a beautiful practice of life itself, meaning that we're going to experience challenging "postures" in life, some less enjoyable than others, some easier, some fun, some frustrating, but trusting that the postures are just temporary opportunities to learn more about ourselves and that the best way to get the most out of them is to become more aware of your body, your breath, your true nature, which is peace, to know when to go a little deeper or when you can back off and try it in a different way. The point is that there's no right way to do anything. As long as you're coming from your heart center and your breath, you're right. So start there, and do more of what you love. Or, better yet, practice more of what you love. Because practice is the potential to find your unique way of being. The doing will then come naturally.