How To Live The Good Life
Happy Sunday!
It’s time to make life juicy-scrumptious and enjoyable, like the best-est, freshest blueberries ever. Yes, I’m eating blueberries right now. No, you don’t have to like blueberries to live a spectacular life - you can leave the berries to me, with my thanks. 😊
Eating is one of the few activities that triggers active enjoyment of the present. We know we’re happy when we’re eating something delicious! Maybe that’s partly why eating (and drinking) are so pervasive in social engagements. But this newsletter isn’t about eating. It’s about enjoying the present whether or not we’re eating. It’s about how to live that “good life” right now.
At some point, each of us has reflected up on the “good times.” The times that we now know were special. The times that were wonderful, fulfilling, and perhaps carefree. The times when we were happiest. The times when we were at peace. We think to ourselves, “Ahhh yes, those were the good times.”
It’s important to smile on memories and appreciate our journeys. And it’s important to look forward to the future so we feel motivated to make progress. But it’s even more important to appreciate and enjoy the present.
Now is the time that we have active control over our wellbeing, our emotions, and our attitudes. Therefore, now is the best time to make ourselves feel at peace, and to create an environment that fosters an abundance of happiness.
We must transition to living in the now. It’s time to let go of reminiscing or dwelling on the past, and of dreaming or worrying about the future. Let’s actively equip ourselves with work, relationships, and activities that we will later recall as “the good times” if we were to reflect upon them. Let’s create a daily existence that feels so right that we catch ourselves thinking, “Ahhh yes, this is the good life.”
What would it take to change our thinking to the present? To go from “those were the good times,” to “this is the good life?”
For me, the magic is in practicing gratitude.
This weekend I attended the annual East Austin Studio Tour, where the public can meet artists in their studio/gallery spaces. It was really inspiring. Seeing all of the beautiful creative spaces got me dreaming about the space I want to have someday. As we drove home, I found myself wondering about how I would feel once I got that space, how I would feel once I started living out the next phase of my artist’s dream.
That sparked this newsletter, and here we are. I’ve become conscious of the fact that I often get caught up in the future, anxious and excited to realize my dreams. I spend tons of time working on and thinking about the future, instead of actively enjoying and celebrating the present.
But I don’t want to miss the good times as I live them. Sure, there are things in my life right now that don’t make the cut of “good times,” but that’s the case in every phase of life.
I don’t want to miss out on living this era in my life, when my hubby and I have fun doing house projects and cooking together on the weekends. I don’t want to miss out on celebrating this time when my body is making our first child. I don’t want to miss out on appreciating this time when I can spend the entire day creating. I want to love this era, so I can enjoy it now and forevermore.
Our time is now. These are the good times, whether or not we’re eating blueberries. This is the good life. Let’s live it, love it, and share it. Happiness is contagious, my foxes.
Three cheers for my lovely foxes,
“Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to realize how good things really are.”
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