The Elysian Life Part I.

A warm summer sun is a delightful thought as we feel the cold of a snowy evening here in Northern Colorado. But do we need it to be sunny all the time to have an Elysian Life? This question is as metaphoric as literal.

The word Elysian is defined as “Blissfull” or “Delightful”.

What is a Blissful life to you? Is it knowing  your day will begin with a cup of coffee and end with a bowl of sweet ice cream? Meditative walks in nature? Your surrounding family and good friends? Your career even?

I believe we define our own bliss. My bliss is knowing that I am comfortable in my own skin. That under any and all circumstances, I remain at peace with myself and with others. My bliss is also in inspiring others to find their bliss…Their Elysian Life.

For many years, I knew no peace. No bliss. Just utter chaos and no direction. I lived without much purpose. Thank God for Spiritual Awakenings and wonderful teachers.

How did I find this bliss?  Not on my own. I found good people who were more than happy to share their “secrets” with me. Now I must pass them on to you!

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How to attain the Elysian Life

Keep it Simple

It seems the happiest people don’t have a lot of stuff. Stuff includes material items, chaos, time, even friends. Though everyone benefits from friendships.

When you look at having too many material items, you will find that the more you have the more you stress over. This can be the same with friendships. A good inventory of your friendships will help you find which friendships are quality and which are more beneficial as acquaintances.

Setting your own personal boundaries in this area is not only beneficial, it is empowering. Knowing that you are not necessarily cutting people out of your life, just acknowledging their place in it. With much love, blessing, and peace.

Taking an inventory of your material items and your current “projects” is also valuable. Too much of anything will certainly cause a lot of unnecessary drama in your life

Service to Others

After you have sorted out the material items in your life, you might find yourself giving things away. This is good.

In addition, now that you have trimmed a good portion of your time, you will find yourself with a little extra. What to do with it? Give some of it away…for free. Whether you chose to volunteer at your church or place of worship,  help a non-profit or do random acts of  kindness. The United Way is a good start to find something.

Living with Gratitude

I know, I know, nothing new. But this is the truth! By keeping a gratitude journal and counting your blessings, you will find a much better attitude toward life and other beings.  Just trust me on this one. Keep a gratitude journal for 21 days and if you are not happy with it, you can have your miserable old life back. Something tells me you won’t be asking for it.

Letting Go of  Expectations

This one can be quite difficult. We all have our ideas of how things “should” be. Then there is reality. We fight this battle trying to reign supreme in how we want things to be in our lives, whether it is family, work, our communities.

I once, so infuriated with a co-worker complained to another and he asked me this simple question “Did you expect something else from her?”.  True, I did even though I knew her personality.

During the holidays, expectations can be at their worst. This is the best time to let it go.

I remember one Christmas Eve when my family all met up with each other at  my grandfather’s home. I was in my first year of sobriety and the first thing I did was take a swig of my grandfather’s eggnog as he was telling me about getting the eggnog free from the food pantry “Course I had to add the booze myself!” he exclaimed. Straight to the sink I went and spit that out completely!  He apologized, but I just laughed.

Then walked in Aunt “B” and cousin “Jo”.  Aunt B had been hitting the Tequila and Vicodin and cousin Jo was definitely on Adderall. So Aunt B is talking really slow, cousin Jo was talking really fast. I expect that around 4 am the next day Aunt B was going to ask cousin Jo “What the Hell did you just say?” Not taking this lightly. I just accepted the situation. As long as I felt safe, I just sighed and smiled. I then proceeded to lovingly, laughingly watch my little nieces and nephews open their gifts. It was a great holiday!

There is Nothing New Under the Sun

I will end this week and begin next week’s blog with this. Nothing I am sharing is new. People have been doling this wisdom out for centuries. Since I have experienced such a grand transformation in my life, I feel the need to pass these little nuggets along to you. I hope you will find them as helpful as I have over the years. Stay Blissful my Friends – E

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. – Ecclesiastes 1:9