What if there is only one thing to master in life? What inner thing would you choose?
I would choose to “enjoy” myself in every moment. Then no matter where I am or what is happening I can enjoy the moment. Because all it takes is making a conscious choice, to look for what I enjoy. I bet no matter what is going on, I can always find something I enjoy.
In my life I have had a lot to deal with. For example, burying my entire family. Yes I am the last man standing. I have always been able to look back on my ,one and be grateful for everything that has happened. Even when people die, even when my grief has been heavy. I have always been grateful for the connection with family and friends during these traumatic events. So yes I have been able to find the enjoyment of funerals, only in the rear view mirror.
Now that I’m writing this new book, Enjoy. Do. Be. Free. the opportunity and the challenge is to find the “joy” in every moment. Joy is a feeling of pleasure in the moment. To enjoy is to take pleasure, posses and benefit from. To me, this means giving myself permission to to “take pleasure” or even find the “pleasure” in the moment. Whether it is the tasteful coffee ship music in the background or the taste of a really well crafted Americans Misto coffee.
To enjoy is to choose. To recognize something which brings me pleasure. I can choose to enjoy it I can choose to not enjoy. Both are arrived at and at through choice. Sometimes through conscious choice and sometimes non-conscious reaction. Whether conscious or not, whether to enjoy or not-enjoy all are decisions. Choosing to enjoy is a decision to recognize a pleasurable experience, to consciously allow oneself to feel it.
To not-enjoy is often an unconscious emotional eruption, a reaction to some stimulus, event or person. These unconscious eruptions are often preceded by automatic negative thoughts. Or triggered by negative memories, old, well worn patterns of thought and beliefs based past experiences. What gets forgotten is what has handed in the past does not necessarily translate as the truth in this moment.
All are choices.
This is the first public post ever about a book concept I am working on, “Enjoy. Do. Be. Free.”