Having a Positive Life Takes Work

As I wrote a while ago, I'm working to regain myself.  Happily, I'm making good strides!  Thought I'd share some of the things I've changed in my life and the differences I'm seeing in myself.


Each morning I open my heart and mind to the possibilities of the new day.  Prior, my attitude was much more negative as I never considered myself to be a morning person.  Now, I embrace the morning and welcome it with song!  I'm finding I awake more eagerly and am energized by getting moving and doing more things earlier.  It's a whole new way of looking at my days, with more positive energy and aligning my spirit with the dawn.


I make time to reflect on the beauty around me.  It's awesome how glorious are the colors in spring here in the mid-Atlantic region. Giving myself time to appreciate Earth's spectrum and the effects of various lighting just makes me glow with happiness.  It's impossible to hold on to negative thoughts and feelings when you're emerged in this beauty.


I sing!  To me, singing allows my very soul to soar up to the heavens.  I sing about anything my heart is feeling.  These songs are just for me, so I make up whatever I want - the important thing being the expression of my joy.  The more I sing, the more joy I get!


I take a daily walk.  More often than not, I've been able to get up from my desk for at least 30 minutes to get outside and move around.  This refreshes me so at the end of the day, I'm not completely worn out.  We recently welcomed a dog into our home, so he makes certain I get up (when I'm working out of my home office) and he's great company.  It's always made me happy to walk through the woods with a dog.  As a child, I would walk the neighborhood dogs (as we rarely had a dog of our own), so this connection is a link with my earlier and happier self.


I'm exercising and working on my health.  Three mornings a week I take a deep water aerobics class.  I'm feeling much stronger and vastly more fit as the result, and I've made new friends.  I've also taken steps to resolve a couple long-standing, nagging physical issues - ones that didn't require urgent medical attention, but never-the-less kept me from doing things.  It's amazing how one part of the body getting out of alignment can over time create issues in other parts.  I've learned by going to physical therapy how to walk properly and found I require a lift in one shoe to correct having one hip higher than the other.  No wonder my back has been hurting!  I'm so happy with this simple cure!


Volunteering.  I recently had an offer that would have prevented me from having enough personal time to keep doing my volunteer work.  While soul searching to make this important decision, it was this realization and the fact that people who now depend on me would be negatively impacted that led me to decide to not make a change.  It's no secret that people who volunteer get as much back as they give.  This is definitely true for me and I realize the premium I place on being able to give to my favorite charities and non-profits.


I'm enjoying this journey to rediscover myself.  I occasionally need to remind myself to not fall back into long-hewed patterns. I will continue to build lasting habits that support a positive life.  There's more work to do, but I feel like I'm well on my way to capturing my child-like curiosity, zeal for living, and spiritualism that gives me balance with the beating sound of nature.  These are my personal goals.  I am so excited to be closer than I've been since I was much younger.  Rather than mourn something as being lost, I choose to work to regain that spirit, to be authentic to myself!