It's Monday Morning, and I'm sipping on my coffee, contemplating this blog topic and contemplating my life happiness. Lately, on my own personal journey, I have been trying to get back to my 'happy place'. I hope each and everyone of you has a happy place. You know, that place inside and outside of you where your life properties are in alignment with the universe? Yes, THAT place! You are happy and harmonious in your family life, career, education, and your spiritual being. The place where you find balance in all that you do.
It can be devastating when there is an upset in your wheelbarrow of life ( a death in the family, a financial crisis, divorce, trauma) and your balance gets thrown more to one side of your wheelbarrow than the other. My visualization is this: If anyone of you has ever done yard work and has handled a wheelbarrow, you know that it is precarious on its single front wheel if the load of weeds, dirt and grass clippings is not balanced. I've tipped over that wheelbarrow before and dumped its contents. I get a bit mad when this happens and curse under my breath (Okay. I curse out loud-my neighbors love me!), but I put everything as best as I can back into the wheelbarrow, taking better care that the load is not too full or imbalanced. And then, when I am able to wheel it and dump it into my lawn bags, life is good again.
Eudamonic
Aristotle had it right back in the day. He wrote about happiness and what is called being Eudamonic ("Eu" = "good", "daimon" = "spirit" or "diety"). Eudamonic means to strive towards excellence and one's personal happiness based on their potential and unique talents. Aristotle considered this to be the noblest goal in a person's life.
Ancient Greek culture believed that each child at birth was blessed with a personal, special daimon (their inner spirit) embracing their loftiest, possible expression of his or her personality. This daimon was visualized as a golden figurine that would be revealed by the chipping away of an outer layer of pottery (representing the child's outer being). Once the pottery was chipped away, the child, while growing up, would find their most "golden self"-or eudamonic well-being, in current lingo. So even now, this ancient concept has turned into present-day exploration for our personal growth and happiness. And we keep growing through our challenges of new opportunities and the journey of fulfilling one's meaning of purpose in life.
So on this Monday, I am striving to find my eudamonic well-being. It will be a busy one today, but I know that eudamonia is already kicking in-my fresh-ground coffee this morning rocked my world! It's the little moments that count to make the bigger ones successful. :-)
Find your golden-self today!
~Merri Lou
No comments:
Post a Comment