It’s a beautiful snowy day here in Michigan. It’s the first real snow we’ve seen all winter, which is super depressing to me. I look forward to the snow every year. This year it seemed like I was going to miss out until last night. It started and just has not stopped! The snow, if you follow us on Instagram, has special meaning to me. It’s tied deeply to some of my favorite childhood memories and time spent with my family.
The snow always make me reminiscent and deeply introspective. There is just something about the beautifully stark, frozen, silent, whiteness that blankets every surface that calls to me in a way none of the other seasons do. Waking up to this sight filled my soul with such a deep blissful feeling. My anxiety calmed, worries that had been nagging at me disappeared, and the depression I had been spiraling into eased away.
But why?
The answer is much deeper than these next four words, but they sum it up beautifully… I lost my bliss. Obviously it was not lost in the traditional sense. Clearly I did not accidentally drop it on the way to the doctors, nor did I leave it behind at the last restaurant I visited with my Dad. Like many emotions, it was slowly chipped away at through the everyday stresses of life. Lately, at least in my life, there have been an overwhelming amount of stressors. With all the issues and stress came an enormous amount of growth as well, but the process itself has been insanely difficult.
If you are like me and feel as though you have lost your bliss (joy, happiness, delight, ecstacy, ect. You get the drift.) sometimes it is extremely hard to find what sparks it in your soul. I have gone through this process many times. Every time I learn a little more about myself. I want to help you find your bliss too! I’d love to say that you’ll be able to live in a state of bliss… but that may be not be the case for everyone. I know it is not for me. However, you should always be able to return to that state once you know the signs to watch for.
First off, you have to determine if you have lost your bliss in the first place. Ask yourself these questions and be honest with yourself. You can journal your answers if it helps you to sort out the thoughts in your head.
- Are you going through your life smiling to mask a heavy heart? Why?
- Do you feel like you are losing hope, hopeless, or lacking optimism? Are you hiding it from others?
- When you look at your surroundings, do colors lack their vibrancy to you?
Next, is there an event, feeling, situation that has weighed on you so heavily that you feel you can not get from under? It helps to recognize if your lost bliss is situational or if there is something deeper causing it, such as depression, grief, or another instance where either medical intervention or therapy would be beneficial. There is absolutely NO SHAME in reaching out for help. I am a huge advocate of therapy and it’s many benefits.
If you are in need of help and do not know where to start to reach out, please email us. We can help you to find the resources in your area that are available to you.
Once you have completed the first two parts of this exercise you can begin to search out your bliss! There are many avenues you can take. I like to begin with a daily gratitude practice, meditation, yoga, and journaling, but that is just one path.
- Begin each day with 3 things you are grateful for. Got more than 3 in mind? Keep going! Gratitude will shift your frame of mind and help open you up to your bliss.
- Find time to meditate. If you are a caregiver, mother, or in service of others, it is extremely important for you to make time for yourself! It can be 1-15 minutes or 2 hours!
- Movement! I can not put enough emphasis on how important this part is. Even if you are bed ridden, find small movements. Stretch your fingers, your jaw, arms, legs, move to music, dance, do yoga (my go-to even on my worst lupus flare days.). Get your blood moving!
- At the end of the day, grab your favorite beverage (I love a hot cup of tea), your journal, and dump everything from your day into it! The great, the not so great, and the garbage! Leave the day on those pages. Start the next morning off fresh and new.
These things help to bring you back to your center and open you up to fresh possibilities. I usually find my bliss in my everyday life. Quiet moments spent cuddling my kids or animals, writing out my to do list for the day (yes, I am a bit strange), getting lost in a book, a freshly cleaned house, lazing the day away in our pool, or even freshly fallen snow. These are things that may seem mundane to some and even bothersome or abhorrent to others. That’s the beauty of finding your bliss though… It’s YOURS and YOURS alone.
If you are more of a “do-er” create a list of all the things you have tried, would love to try, and look interesting to you:
- Painting
- Skydiving
- Join a Volunteer Organization
- Kayaking
- Horseback Riding
- Become a Yoga Instructor
- Underwater Basket Weaving
- Taking a Chemistry Class
- Becoming a Culinary Professor
- Become a Makeup Artist
- Gardening
- Designing Video Games
List all of it! Then lean into it and pick one, or 5! Be careful to not over extend yourself into exhaustion. This is strictly to bring you back to your state of Bliss.
What are some things that fill your life with Bliss?
Lunar Rising 
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