"....those little things that pick away at your peace of mind and drain your positive energy. They distract you when you are trying to be productive...They cause strain and stress in your relationships. Perhaps they bring out a side of you that you don't like or they bring about feelings of depression and self-loathing..."
Joy Snatchers.
The things that hold us back. The things that keep up monotonous and lackluster. Hello Day 2 of the #30Layers30Days self discovery challenge! Today we continue our journey by identifying the things that snatch our joy. Be it big or small, many of few, on day 2 we are calling it OUT.
Joy isn't caused by something that happens to you. That's happiness. Joy is an ability to be content and satisfied no matter the outcome or opposition. One day I realized that joy is a choice. And it was from that moment when I clearly saw a need to make joy a priority in my life. Not saving it for later or tomorrow and definitely not doing work-work-work first and squeezing in the things that make my soul glow a mere moments before bedtime. PURPOSEFULLY making joy a top priority. Every. Single. Day. And yet there was something that I permitted to snatch my joy...my past. Past mistakes, things I blamed myself for, and caused me so much shame was my number one joy snatcher.
It was like having a front row seat in the same movie I had seen dozens of times before, reliving every detail. Familiar emotions rising to remind me of who I used to be and of that which I used to do. Echos of failures and shadows of remnants of a past life.
Accepting and making peace with the painful moments of my past has been one of the hardest things to do and is an ongoing process that I courageously embark upon. Getting past the past is one of the greatest things I could ever do to increase my joy and that is because although the past was indeed real, it is shadow and smoke. It belongs where it is and has no place in my here and now.
The past and the present moment cannot coexist. When my present body's mind was in the past I forfeited the opprotunity to be in the present moment and INjoy what the day had to offer me. Moving past the past meant I (1) Faced the shadow side (the disappointments, guilt, and let downs) and (2) transformed the emotions fo guilt, resentment, anger and grief back into joy through the freedom of forgiveness.
guilt/resentment/shame --> self forgiveness --> Joy
One day I got out a notebook, wrote down all the things of my past, as much as I could remember, that I beat myself up about and wrote "I forgive myself for..." and then I sat in front of a full body mirror, look myself in my gorgeous eyes and say aloud that I forgive myself and read all that I had written. Gently allowing myself to cry and read as slowly or as quickly as I liked. When I released myself from the past I wrapped my arms around myself and said sometimes aloud or in my heart "I love you MahYah. You are gorgeous and I will always be here for you. I love you so much. Everything is alright."
That moment transformed me and elevated my capacity for self love. Now above my bed I keep a green colored forgiveness journal where I write down before bed or whenever the moment is fitting what I forgive myself (or others) for on that day. I've been able to increase joy in my life through forgiveness- forgiving myself. One of my sistahfriends Yah'Zahra Adira made a comment on her blog www.beautifulzion.weebly.com about forgiveness which was beautifully stated: "This teaches us to be more patient, kind, and loving with ourselves. It also helps us to be more patient and understanding of other people's flaws and mistakes. It is the daily process of granting yourself and others the freedom to be imperfect and still be loved."
Joyfully,
MahYah
3rd Day
9.2.14
flow with me....
stop thinking what to share and share what you're thinking
Joy Snatchers.
The things that hold us back. The things that keep up monotonous and lackluster. Hello Day 2 of the #30Layers30Days self discovery challenge! Today we continue our journey by identifying the things that snatch our joy. Be it big or small, many of few, on day 2 we are calling it OUT.
Joy isn't caused by something that happens to you. That's happiness. Joy is an ability to be content and satisfied no matter the outcome or opposition. One day I realized that joy is a choice. And it was from that moment when I clearly saw a need to make joy a priority in my life. Not saving it for later or tomorrow and definitely not doing work-work-work first and squeezing in the things that make my soul glow a mere moments before bedtime. PURPOSEFULLY making joy a top priority. Every. Single. Day. And yet there was something that I permitted to snatch my joy...my past. Past mistakes, things I blamed myself for, and caused me so much shame was my number one joy snatcher.
It was like having a front row seat in the same movie I had seen dozens of times before, reliving every detail. Familiar emotions rising to remind me of who I used to be and of that which I used to do. Echos of failures and shadows of remnants of a past life.
Accepting and making peace with the painful moments of my past has been one of the hardest things to do and is an ongoing process that I courageously embark upon. Getting past the past is one of the greatest things I could ever do to increase my joy and that is because although the past was indeed real, it is shadow and smoke. It belongs where it is and has no place in my here and now.
The past and the present moment cannot coexist. When my present body's mind was in the past I forfeited the opprotunity to be in the present moment and INjoy what the day had to offer me. Moving past the past meant I (1) Faced the shadow side (the disappointments, guilt, and let downs) and (2) transformed the emotions fo guilt, resentment, anger and grief back into joy through the freedom of forgiveness.
guilt/resentment/shame --> self forgiveness --> Joy
One day I got out a notebook, wrote down all the things of my past, as much as I could remember, that I beat myself up about and wrote "I forgive myself for..." and then I sat in front of a full body mirror, look myself in my gorgeous eyes and say aloud that I forgive myself and read all that I had written. Gently allowing myself to cry and read as slowly or as quickly as I liked. When I released myself from the past I wrapped my arms around myself and said sometimes aloud or in my heart "I love you MahYah. You are gorgeous and I will always be here for you. I love you so much. Everything is alright."
That moment transformed me and elevated my capacity for self love. Now above my bed I keep a green colored forgiveness journal where I write down before bed or whenever the moment is fitting what I forgive myself (or others) for on that day. I've been able to increase joy in my life through forgiveness- forgiving myself. One of my sistahfriends Yah'Zahra Adira made a comment on her blog www.beautifulzion.weebly.com about forgiveness which was beautifully stated: "This teaches us to be more patient, kind, and loving with ourselves. It also helps us to be more patient and understanding of other people's flaws and mistakes. It is the daily process of granting yourself and others the freedom to be imperfect and still be loved."
Joyfully,
MahYah
3rd Day
9.2.14
flow with me....
stop thinking what to share and share what you're thinking