How to Be in Love with Life

I’ve had several conversations lately where I find myself admitting, “I’m just a lover of life.” If you’ve followed me long enough you know that I wasn’t always this way, In fact, I was quite the opposite. I battled varying levels of depression, felt totally stuck and lost, and really believed life was out to get me and that “life sucked”.

And now? I’m obnoxiously positive and happy, and think life is the coolest thing ever. If the me from years ago met the me today, I don’t think we’d recognize each other. I’ve done a lot of thinking about how I’ve gotten to this place and want to share some of the top things with you today.

How to be in Love with Life

Cultivate curiosity.

I don’t care how many degrees you’ve held, how much you’ve traveled, or how many people you’ve had deep conversations with, you don’t know everything. It’s impossible. At some point in becoming a grown up, we stop being curious. We fall into patterns, ruts, and routines, and we just settle in. We don’t learn or grow or question anymore, and that’s such an unfortunate things. Start asking questions, regardless of who you’re talking to or what the concept is. Be open to whatever there is to learn in every situation, and from every person you meet.

Maintain a sense of child like wonder.

Life is pretty cool if you take a moment to pause and think about it. More important, if you take the time to really engage with it and all the amazing people around you. When’s the last time you looked up at the stars with wonder, or watched airplanes take off in awe? When’s the last time you were excited by something as constant as nature? The world is a fascinating and magical place, we just get too wrapped up in the day to day to really see it.

Remember that life is truly a miracle.

You don’t have to stop and think about it for very long to realize that being alive is truly miraculous. The fact that we have bodies, that we know to breathe automatically, and that we grow and shift and change and age. That fact that we’re born at all. The fact that we love one another. The fact that we can do and create such amazing things in this life.

Surrender to the flow.

A big reason we begin to believe life is hard and crappy is that we resist it. Everything in this world is energy, and all that energy flows beautifully if we just let it. Including us. Including our relationships, personal growth, goals, and work. If you feel like things aren’t going your way, you’re probably resisting the flow, or you’re trying too hard to control every aspect of your life. You’re also likely out of tune with your intuition. When we trust our intuition, we instantly surrender to the flow and allow it to guide us through life. Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s amazing, but we can’t resist.

Stay open.

Being open is hard work, because it means we’re putting ourselves and our hearts out there with huge risk. It means we’re feeling everything, and sometimes that’s painful. But it’s also really amazing. If you close yourself for fear of getting hurt, you also close yourself to love, passion, joy, and connection. One thing I’ve learned in my short time on this Earth is that the more deeply we’re hurt or broken, the greater our capacity for the good stuff. Let yourself feel it all and just soak it up, you’re alive and that’s a beautiful thing.

Connect, connect, connect.

Many of us have a lot of people in our lives… maybe that’s family, a significant other, co-workers, and fiends, but how many of us are truly connected? We’re afraid to dive deep and really see the other people in our lives, or open ourselves up to be witnessed fully, yet it’s what we all crave. Rejection can be a bummer, but living a life totally disconnected and on the surface is far worse. You have one life, do you really want to spend it on the surface, talking about things that don’t matter with people you can’t possibly adore fully, and who can’t adore you, because neither of you are willing to be uncomfortable?

Play.

Stop being such a grown up and have some fun! Life isn’t meant to be taken so seriously, it’s meant to be enjoyed. Play on the jungle gym, skip through a pile of fall leaves, start lip syncing and busting a move at the grocery store when your favorite song comes on… I do these things all the time (to name a few) and it’s a blast. Who cares if that grumpy old man behind you thinks you’re ridiculous?! The point of life is to be alive, so be alive. Have fun. Play, regardless of whether the kids are around. Do what your heart desires.

Just be yourself.

It takes a lot of energy to try and be someone or something you’re not, so just be you. There’s no one else like you on this planet, not even close, so own it. Love yourself fully and don’t worry how that makes anyone else feel. Life is too short, and you have so many gifts to give by just showing up fully, as you are in each moment. I spent a lot of time in my life trying to be someone I wasn’t and hiding parts of myself from the people in my life… but since I’ve settled into myself with love and appreciation, life is so much more amazing. I feel so much more connected and appreciated, and I’m really living in alignment with what’s right for me.

Be grateful.

Yeah, yeah, yeah… gratitude and what not. But seriously. Give gratitude a real go and create a real practice. Gratitude is one of the fastest ways to raise your vibration and experience more joy and fulfillment. Do it every day, especially when it seems like there’s nothing to be grateful for. Remember, this life is amazing, just the fact that you woke up today is plenty to be grateful for, and there’s always more. Make it a habit to express gratitude for the gift of another day when you wake up, and at least three things when you fall asleep at night.

Love.

Love hard, deeply, fully, and completely. Love everyone and everything. Love is such an underused emotion, yet it’s something we all have access to if we simply open our hearts. Place your hands over your heart and think about someone or something that makes you feel love. Focus on that energy, and work to amplify it until it feels like it’s pouring out of you… until you want to go around hugging people just so you can share it.  Remember that you have this energy within you all the time. All you have to do is tune in and turn it up, then send it out to others.