What Makes You Come Alive?
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman
Imagine how your life might have been if you’d been taught that as you were growing up?
What would you be doing right now?
How would you be feeling?
No Regrets
I love the shift in perspective that Thurman’s words encapsulate; they trigger a deep ”yes” in me as I read and reflect on their meaning.
Firstly, they reinforce my realization that I don’t have any regrets about the path I’ve forged in life despite the fact that external encouragement for me to do what makes me come alive has essentially been absent.
I’m totally in trust that even when I’ve been out of alignment with my inner truth, the challenges I’ve faced have served a valuable purpose in terms of who I’ve become through the alchemy of awakening.
It’s Never Too Late
I’m also inspired by what I interpret as the timeless quality of this simple yet truly significant message.
It’s never too late to explore what makes you come alive and transform your beliefs, decisions and actions to create a new version of life that nourishes rather than depletes you.
I genuinely believe that feeling vibrantly alive is a fundamental birthright, and the process of clearing, releasing and dissolving the conditioning which blocks that natural state leads to living consciously, creatively and joyfully.
Follow Your Bliss
One of the core questions I invite Conscious Writers to explore in relation to writing is, “What makes your heart sing?”
This is a different version of the same principle that reminds you to write what you feel called to write, not what you think you “should” write.
The late mythologist Joseph Campbell famously advised, “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.”
These invitations are all pointing towards the same freedom to make conscious choices in all areas of your life based on what’s true and authentic for you.
All Areas
The third reason this quote stirs something deep within me is the fact that it can be applied in different ways at multiple levels.
Your first impulse may be to interpret these words as a shift in emphasis relating to what you do in the world and the degree to which that uplifts or diminishes you.
Yet there are also conscious choices to be made concerning all areas of your life that either move you closer to or further away from what makes you come alive.
The “Isness” of Life
As I write this sitting outside in the warm September sunshine, I’m conscious of the vibrancy all around me and acknowledge the decision I made years ago to live in close proximity to nature.
The wind rustling the leaves on nearby trees, the birds singing their call and response, and the distant hare bounding across the field draw me in to ever-deeper levels of Now and the exquisite “isness” of life.
I know with all my heart that the contribution I’m able to make in the world through who I am and what I do is directly in proportion to how awake, alive and aligned I am.
So I welcome the reminder to continue making that a priority going forwards.
How about you?
What makes you come alive? Please share your comments and experience below. Thank you!
Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash
What a wonderful question! Here are a few examples of what makes me come alive:
Nature, nature, nature. I grew up exploring the forest, playing in the creek, wandering through fields after a rain and being splashed with the wet weeds; playing in the rain. Yesterday, I walked in the rain and took my shoes off so that my bare feet could be close to the earth as I paddled in the puddles. Though I’m 77, I felt an exquisite joyfulness of a child.
Conversation~~ especially one on one (though a small group can be invigorating too). sharing thoughts and exploring ideas; listening to stories; offering and/or receiving support; getting to know the world of another who invites me in to know their history.
Listening~~ to another person. Listening, not just to their words but to the feelings underneath the words~~a skill my late husband taught me.
Reading~~O the joy of learning, discovery of other life landscapes.
Quilting~~O the peacefulness that each tiny stitch offers; and the challenge of making them as small as possible and even.
Gardening~~Yesterday I planted a pot of wheat for my cat, Gigi Joy and felt the anticipation of looking forward to the first green stems pushing up through the soil
Writing~~and watching the organic process of my book grow in ways I could never have imagined.
These are some of what gets my juices going and makes me glad to be alive. Thank you for asking.
What a wonderful response! I love your description of all the ways that make you come alive, many of which echo my own. Thanks for sharing Helen 🙂
Anything makes me feel alive, even when I am upset from a mishap, I feel very much alive even when angry.
I admit having been for quite some time having the feeling of uselessness, but now it’s behind me.
What has changed it’s me from inside, I don’t mind beeing idle for some time. I had lead a busy life filling it with actions to be taken and things to do quickly following other things very important to do. After unemployment and despair and endless efforts to fill the gap of time and finance, now everything has a different meaning. I care less.
Yes, it’s so true that feeling alive can come from anything and everything depending on the mindset you bring to the content of life’s rich experience and the overall state of consciousness you’re in at the time. Good for you Helene and thanks for your comment!
I have just returned from a holiday in France, staying at the ancient Abbaye where I lived for five years as a child.I went with a group of five artists to paint, though that was not my primary intention. I largely organised this trip, and it cost me moments of great anxiety, but I knew this is what I wanted to do, and I could only do it with the others around me! It was all that I could have wished for. I felt that I had reconnected with my soul. I felt happy, like a five year old! I felt at home and at one with all the French people. I have returned, refreshed and rejuvenated. Whilst on the boat coming home, I heard the sound of a piano playing. It was the resident pianist. I went and sat near him, I felt alive and inspired, I wanted to dance! I sat and wrote and drew. It showed me that perhaps writing with music might be good, I had not thought of it before.
Thank you Julia,for all your lovely articles, which are so inspiring. Since my return I have given myself the time to read some of them more closely and have really enjoyed them. So often, I think, we don’t give enough time and close attention to what we are reading, at least I don’t, wanting to pack too much in. Less is more!
How magnificent Daphne! I’m inspired to read how courageous you’ve been to organize this trip and how profoundly healing it has been for you at a soul level. The sense of wholeness and joy shines through your words. From your description, I have a delightful image of you writing and drawing along with the music and feeling vibrant and alive! Yes, sometimes writing with music can be immensely powerful and is definitely worth a try.
Thank you for your heart-warming positive feedback about my blog posts which is always encouraging for me to hear. And yes, paying deeper attention to less is definitely more nourishing that skimming the surface of more!
I think that Follow your Bliss is so powerful when you can really feel it from others expressing interest in what you offer.I find all too often it is easy to be a bit ‘sunken in’ and disconnected and to be failing to focus properly on others and so get help on what your Bliss might be from their perspective.I’ve found seeking help here beneficial.
You’ve made an important point here Peter and I appreciate you sharing your experience. It’s great to know that you’ve benefitted from other people reflecting clarity back to you and that is absolutely valid.
The way I see it, looking within to discover your deepest calling is intimately connected to finding what makes you feel truly alive… and it certainly is a two way process although for me it works from the inside out first and then you notice what is reflected back to you from others and find the most harmonious blend between the two.