I recently wrote about an incident over the holidays where guests marveled at the view I said I was “too busy” to see which made me aware of how my words were creating my life and the importance of those words. This incident also brought another issue to light, I am not taking advantage of the amazing opportunities surrounding me. When I started this blog I thought we were going to explore carpe diem or seizing the day, but the truth of this issue is bigger. The larger issue is that we are not living fully.
I work. I complete normal household chores. When I have a few minutes to relax, I stare at a movie or read a book or zone out on Facebook. With an amazing rooftop and pool within reach and a beach a short drive away, why do I spend most nights and weekends cooped up? I are not using the amazing amenities around me because I have been conditioned that nature, experiencing, and creativity are not important. As a society, we are totally engaged in mental activities which do not involve our bodies, our senses, our hearts, or our souls.
Our society tends to focus on mental acuity and business success. As Ken Robinson said in his TED Talk, “As children start to grow up, we educate them progressively from the waist up and then we focus on their heads, and slightly to one side.” Our education system is focused on obtaining a job in the workforce not for creating a full person. Schooling and the careers which result systematically breed conformity. Creativity, individuality, and self-exploration are not encouraged. Logic and the societally defined “real world” are all important. There is no time for play. No time to move. No time to explore. We find comfort in the rules. We feel safer when things are perfect, contained, and uniform.
But we are only living half a life.
We are not using our bodies. We are not exploring our creativity. We are not tapped into our intuition. We are not gifted with the joys of deeply experiencing our senses. We are not stopping to smell the roses and soaking in the wonders all around us. Instead we are trapped in our minds. Imprisoned by responsibilities. Suffocated by conformity.
I challenge you to take time every day to engage in your full life. Dance. Paint. Create. Tell a joke. Explore. Touch. Smell. Play. Trust your intuition. Start noticing how a whole new you starts to take shape. Notice how you begin to be aware of your legs. Notice how you start seeing beyond your laptop. Notice how being fully grounded in your full self makes you feel whole again.
Notice that I am not saying to throw out thinking, education, or business. We just need to add the other half back into our lives. We are bringing together two halves of a whole which have long been disconnected.
And if you don’t mind now, I am doing to stop using my logical analytical brain and go color.