Articles That Support Self-Awareness
and Personal Growth

Filling the Cup of the Heart
(© Michele Lauren Hummel )

We all have certain interests and activities that we do which nurture and renew the creative center of our being. They are those things we do that fire passion and emotion, that nurture joy, inspire creativity, make us feel truly alive. They are activities that when we are complete with them for the time being, we may be physically and/or emotionally tired, but not drained nor weary, for within the fatigue, there is renewal of body, mind and soul. The "cup of the heart" is filled.

These pleasures may be a mix of left and right brain activities, sedentary or active pursuits, but whatever they are, when doing them, we are wonderfully absorbed in them, feeling invigorated, happy, full of well-being and very alive!

The renewal and invigoration received from doing these activities is so vital to the quality of performance in all aspects of the rest of our lives, that without this fuel for our creative soul fire, all else positive in our lives begins to diminish and depress.

When something is so terribly important to our overall well-being, why is it that very often we will stop doing that which benefits us the most! I don't know that there is one simple answer to why we stop, but the result is always the same: the degradation in the quality of our lives, and the shutting down of part of our very soul.

Some of the reasons why we stop doing a passion are the following: trying to placate the wants of someone else, believing the negative opinions of another, or our own negative criticism. Shrivvelers such as, "Why are you playing that piano again! You have real work to get done, and you should not be wasting your time banging on that thing when you have deadlines to meet!", or, "You are always messing with that stupid toy train! There are tons of chores that have to be done before Monday morning", become the rule. Maybe your own decisions are the worst offenses yet. "Why am I ever bothering to paint all these ridiculous pictures. Nobody wants to see them. I'll never sell any; there is nothing I can do with them except put them in the basement. This is so impractical! I need to spend my time doing something that makes real money". It goes on and on. With this kind of message, doing one's passion is simply too painful, and a double shut-down occurs: the pain of not doing one's joy, and being in pain about the presumed pointlessness of doing the thing you love to do.

Often painful negative feelings experienced when a relationship changes with a loved one allows the unhappy experience to become the reason not to do a joyful pursuit. "I hurt too much to try to feel better!" Any number of unpleasant feelings allowed to become the focus of our lives are used as a reason to stop doing that which brings us greatest upliftment, release, and creative rejuvenation.

To live feeling fully alive is one's own choice and responsibility. There are many examples of people living in full joy-filled passion from many different walks of life and conditions of circumstance. Having the courage and determination to feel good is our personal business.

Deciding to feel good, whatever we can manage, is the most important decision that we can make. Spending even a few moments each day doing something that utterly delights us increases our feeling of well-being and makes it easier to do even more of our soul's passion. If what you used to do no longer brings you joyful relief, then sample Life's banquet and find something new with which to enrich your soul. Doing our passion even a little bit each day makes life continuously better. Try it! The only thing there is to lose is misery!

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