A Journey Into Joy
Step 7 — Week 2: The Approach
Step 7 The Approach Time to approach a “dangerous” place. In an adventure movie this is usually an impending big battle. For me/us, it’s more like a mental barrier. In essence, the approach is marked by a setback of some kind. It becomes a lesson in persistence, where we must cope with failure, change our mindset, and/or try new ideas.
This step is about the approach itself, where we must navigate to get closer to our ultimate goal. The stakes are rising, and failure is no longer an option. Well…that’s a bit over the top…but you get the picture.
For me I plan to continue with the areas covered in the weeks of Step 1 (health, home, The Mandala Lady, and my purpose).
Here’s my journal entry for step 7–week 2: Home
So I’m still struggling to get a handle on caring for my home. Yes, I created my OITH system (Order in the House). My little spreadsheet is up on my fridge. It’s a simple system to follow. I know what needs to be done and how best to do it yet without fully processing the internal resistance, all I’m doing is just bringing the horse to water (OITH system)…and waiting on the horse (me) to drink (implement) it.
And then I remembered…while scrolling through IG today, I “happened” upon a post by Reese Witherspoon where she referenced an IG post by Steve Guttenberg. Essentially they offered a mindset change from a “have to” to a “get to”. For instance, in Steve’s case, it’s not that he “has to” wait for the train, he “gets to” wait for the train. He gets to wake up in the morning. He gets to take a shower. He gets to go to his show. It puts him in a state of appreciation and peace.
I think I may have found an antidote to my resistance. Rather than looking at caring for my home as a “have to”, I can look at it from a place of “get to”…
I get to do the dishes. I get to vacuum the floors. I get to weed the garden. I get to do my laundry. I get to have clothes. I get to have a home. I get to have a yard. My crown center is buzzing like crazy right now. I think I’m onto something.
So my plan is to adopt a “get to” mindset. Throughout the day, and especially when I catch myself saying “I have to…”, I’m going recite the mantra “I get to _______” and fill in the blank with whatever I’m doing or seeing in that moment. Wish me luck 🍀
That’s it for now,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
bringing sanity to an insane world through the art of mandalas
ABOUT “A JOURNEY INTO JOY”
With all the anxiety and stress in the world right now, focusing on joy may seem a bit counterintuitive. Mais contraire mes amis. We actually need more joy in our lives…now more than ever. And it starts within each of us. It’s been my experience that when in that higher vibrational state of joy, it helps raise the vibration of those around us as well.
Brené Brown defines joy as “an intense feeling of deep spiritual connection, pleasure, and appreciation”. Of late, I mostly experience only moments of happiness and on a rare occasion, joy…thus my desire to journey into joy.
My quest throughout this year is to explore, experience, and express this state in a variety of ways, including following a variation of the hero’s journey, as professed by Jospeh Campbell.
Care to join me? Here’s how…
MandalaoftheMonth.com: On the first of the month, I’ll create and post a mandala for coloring. Each month we’ll take another step along the “journey into joy” by following a modified version Joseph Campbell’s a hero’s journey. Included in each step will be a description of the step and prompts for coloring and/or journaling for the month. You’re welcome to color them as well…they’re free to download.
MandalaoftheWeek.com: Each Monday I’ll be posting my coloring of that month’s Mandala of the Month, which will produce 4-5 colorings of that design. With each one, I intend to dig deeper into the message of that month’s mandala. You’re welcome to color along as well.
Mandala of the Week 