What do I truly Love? 5 Ways to find your answer.

Perhaps loving something is the only starting place there is for making your life your own. - Alice Koeler

February is the month dedicated to LOVE.  This month holds the promise, that if we make what we truly love a part of our everyday, each day (regardless of the challenges) will be fully lived and fully enjoyed.


What do you truly love?  If you do not have an answer, do not worry, you are not alone.  The reality is - most of us do not know what we love.  During the course of our lives, other people's ideas about what we should love, and when, and how,  blur and hide our "real" answer.  Eventually, we have no idea what we truly love.  Thankfully, we can find the answer(s) by doing any or all of the following:

• Carry a small note book - each time you say to yourself, "I wish I could do that" - write it down.
• In your note book, record what you like about what other people are wearing - earrings, handbags, tee shirts, boots/shoes -  no plan, no judgement just appreciation.
• Carry a camera or use your phone camera to take pictures of things that catch your attention - patterns, furniture, signs, color combinations, shapes....any and everything.
• Start a Pintrest Board - this is an online "scrapbook"/pin board, which allows you to collect (and share if you like) images of things that you find interesting, as you cruise cyberspace -  www.pintrest.com 
• Visit local places - parks, restaurants, stores, malls - that has "something" special that resonates with you.  Allow yourself time to just sit and take in the atmosphere.

Here are just a few of my favorite, inspiring places:

• ABC Carpet & Home, NYC
• Cloisters Museum, NYC
• Lafayette Village, Raleigh, NC
• The Siena Hotel, Chapel Hill, NC
• Bikram Yoga Raleigh 
• Bookstores - any size, anywhere in the world
• Flea Markets

This is an exciting adventure, that will immediately change our lives, since we will be focusing on all that is good in our lives.  Who knows what the "records" will show by month's end, and how our lives will change as we fill our days with our true loves.

Serene Serendipity - Divine Events and Retreats has set up some exciting "adventures" that makes it easy for  you to explore and uncover your loves.  Check in at www.sereneserendipity.com.

it is a beautiful, winter day, at last!! I have some work to do on a great project that landed on my lap.

www.serenesharon@blogspot.com

New Year, New You, New Groove!

I exhaled at the end of 2011.  I had made it.  I exhaled because I had made progress.  I had accomplishments that mattered to me. I was living my life according to me.   In the past, that exhalation on New Year's Eve, was one of defeated hopelessness, surprised that I had not succumbed to life pressures, wondering if it will ever end.  Fear and anxiety were constant, my life was definitely NOT FUN.

MY LIFE.  It was mine, and I had no control of it.  I was tired of feeling like a rag doll, at the whim of whatever happened during the day.  I wanted to choose how I  experienced my life.  If I could not always control what was happening outside of my body, I at least wanted control of what was happening inside, especially   my reactions to circumstances, and the people around me.  I wanted to be happy.... I wanted some of that "peace that passes understanding" I was hearing and reading about.  I wanted to look forward to each day with joyful anticipation.  So, since I had nothing to lose, I made a commitment to myself to have My Best Year Ever! 

•  I talked to a Life Coach, who helped with a "life perspective re-adjustment."

• She helped me view my life objectively, and showed me where I had choices and opportunities to reclaim control.  I looked at all aspects of my life and rated how I felt about each (some examples are below).

• Friendships and other relationships
• Finances
• Job/work
• Health
• Love and Romance
• House and physical surroundings

• At the start of each day - I focused on how I felt when I opened my eyes
• what was causing the feelings
• what/who I wanted to avoid - the impact of facing or avoiding
• what I was looking forward to

• I looked at the big picture and started to implement small changes.  I identified:  
• what I enjoyed doing and wanted more of
• what I hated/resented doing and wanted less of
• what I ultimately wanted my life to look like.  
• who made me feel great/aweful (how and why)

Just taking a look at my life, and knowing where everything stood, was an immense relief. "Acceptance brings peace"  -  that is the absolute truth.  It is from this perspective, I could see clearly where to make changes, I could understand where the "blockades" were, and where my easiest paths to change lay.

I am happy, even with the challenges that come and go each day.  I have a real life that consists of several aspects of my ultimate dream life.

This year, I wish everyone the gift of a "life perspective-adjustment." This gift will put you on the journey towards living the life you always imagined.

You can find some life assessment forms to help you evaluate you life at Serene Serendipity Life Evaluation Series