Hi there, life is still topsy turvy, which is expected to continue for a very long while. Is that bad? Is that good? Or just as it is? Do you agree, we can make the most of it and take it as an opportunity, not a hindrance? Life has become even more testing and stressful than most of us can recall. Covid restrictions fluctuate, which can (but not necessarily) lead us to feel confused, flat, stressed and more. Can you relate to this, where you feel lacking in vim, vigour, enthusiasm and colour?
With the advent of Covid-19 most of us have been affected in major ways. Our freedom has been withdrawn; we may feel shut in, shut down, trapped etcetera. It has caused us to become flat, colourless, apathetic, in victim consciousness, even angry. We may not be absolutely aware of the plethora of feelings that move through us. The manner we have been affected by the pandemic either positively or negatively, may not have truly registered. Would you agree?
It feels appropriate to share about colour and power, which go together in our expression. So much of what we do is connected in all aspects of our lives, can we recognise it as being the case, and how there is that wonderful interconnection with everything that we do? Nothing is random.
In this context references to power are positive, such as being inspired by love and to have self-determination. We do not want power for the sake of power, which is based by fear and the negative ego.
Colour equates to many things besides what we see as we normally relate to colour. It can also be the feelings we hold inside us, whether our life is vibrant, we are enthused, upbeat. Whether or not we usually feel drawn to wear colourful clothes or use it in in our daily expression. For example, our website, cooking, artistic expression, pictures, wall colours – the list could be endless, no doubt you can see that too. With the restrictions most of us have had to curtail our chosen extra activities, which gave us stimulation, learning, interest. Colour is lacking and we feel powerless. Most of us are somewhat affected anyhow, whether we realise the significance of it all, or otherwise.
Power is a huge topic, one aspect being how we frequently self-sabotage ourselves using negative self-talk. This automatically leads us to all sorts of unhelpful behaviour, as when we realise that we are being passive, we may go in the opposite direction which is to be too forceful. From my experience, when we decide to be assertive, it can tip the balance until we come back into the harmonious middle. We are not practiced in positive self-talk, which is best to come from a loving space, instead of forcing us to be and act differently. Change can be gradual. I can share some affirmations with you to help reinstall positive words, removing the negative power that can influence by us constantly worrying, being full of judgment and negativity. We become conditioned by everything around us from birth and on the most part, it goes unnoticed.
How about we deliberately decide to bring more colour and power into our life again? We decide how to go about it, what will work for us. We have power, determination and courage within, although it may be latent, untapped. We can choose to make a difference, to learn from our restrictions and be more. More love, vibrancy, colour, courage, harmonious, assertive power. Little by little, one step at a time, one moment, one day at a time. What can you do today to bring back that spark of joy, to feel uplifted? To begin with, there would be a simple behaviour that you can apply yourself, which will help you to turn the tide. Be open for ideas and inspirations to come to you.
What I suggest you do is become aware of how you are actually feeling and where you wish to be. Even good habits can become dull, we slip into an unconscious routine which may be outworn. Work with me on this, see what you can do to create new habits and let go of the old ones, even for the time being, as an experiment. Humans thrive on stimulation, interaction with each other, having interests, hobbies. And of course, because I run a free community laughter club with husband John, can offer the suggestion to bring more laughter to yourself, to laugh often would be one fabulous decision to choose as a positive new habit. We meet on Zoom and in person behind the Ferntree Gully Library and we invite you to join us anytime you like.
You can start by doing an everyday habit differently consciously. Stop living as an automotron; bring greater awareness into each day, each hour, each moment. I like the idea of adding colour and that will not resonate with everyone. Many people are not drawn to colour as I am, you may not have many colourful clothes, nor have much colour around you in your home. You may prefer to express yourself in a quieter, more refined way. And yet, we have the power within for anything to change, if we choose it.
Adding colour to your life implies physically and metaphorically. It can mean to lighten up, be more fun loving, positive, adventurous, different, a risk taker. Think about it, can you do this for yourself, to step out of your rut into something new.
To consider colour and choices in our life, we may like to sit down and do a little review of where we are at right now and our direction. Are our choices and what we do each day going towards what we wish to happen, or moving away from due to lack of focus and direction?
Let’s refer to ourselves as ‘Colourful Me’. Colourful Me discovers that each day can be a new adventure, that there is always something unseen to uncover and be moved by. It helps to lift ourselves out of a mundane routine and implement something else to experience or experiment with. For example, a new hairstyle, hobby, challenge.
What would your Colourful Me reach out for? I feel one big thing we can all agree on, is the upliftment when we see a beautiful sunset, which is made even brighter when outside somewhere in nature whilst watching it. Most people have learned in this last year to value the simple things of life and also that there is much to gain by connecting with nature more often, to do outdoorsy things. The garden has become a source of connection with nature in the past year for a lot of people.
There’s been a renewed appreciation of pet ownership. People are undertaking buying a dog or cat with a loftier understanding of what this really means, that we can work with pets, together, complementing each other. They are not disposable, have even become scarce, leading to them be truly valued and treasured.
Be careful what you put out for, as it may come back for you to experience the consequences. Are things in our life because they have been put there because of our choice, or for another reason? This is something for us to experiment with, as regards to become increasingly aware whether we are doing something because we have chosen it, or because we have been told by another what to do. Perhaps there’s the aspect of our conditioning, doing things because it is expected in the roles that we live.
How we live our life may feel like there is no other option, or going back, rewinding. Karmically there may not be an alternative, with no opportunity to get out of a binding situation. Does this sound like you?
If we can’t change our circumstances right away or at all, there is that saying about being able to change one’s attitude. Even prisoners of war were able to come through their experience when they held hope in their hearts.
Things to ponder for you. More laughter. Introduce colour, determination and hope. Review your life. Make new choices. Work towards your goals. Increase your focus. Do something different. Laugh more! Take up meditation and work on your personal growth. I have classes you might like to try out.
I hope this stirs up something in you and would love to meet you for some laughter therapy.
Cheerio for now.
Until next time, laughter blessings. I look forward to hearing from you.
Lots of Love and Laughter, Lynette Mitchell.
