Find Your Bliss…Now!

13. November 2007 by BruceSmith.

Finding Bliss

As I write today, I am sitting in Starbucks, sipping coffee and listening to the tunes being piped through the sound system. Many, if not most, of the songs coming through the speakers deal with love, relationships, peace, harmony, and other quests for “bliss” in this life. The pictures painted by the various lyrics are very inspiring, and often ethereal. Some of the songs speak of living within this idealized state of bliss while others wax on about the quest of finding this state of satisfaction. Great lyrics and phat rhythms, however, seldom capture what is reality for the average human being. Our music today often calls us to consider what it is like to know someone fully, experience rapturous love, feel ecstatic sensations, right the wrongs of the world, and live in a state of bliss.

The chasm between these ideals and our everyday reality, for most of us, is rather large. This is true for the rich, poor, young, old, male, female, successful, and the not so successful. While we all like the idea of having the “world on a string”, very few of us feel as if this is the case most of the time. And too few of us are passionately involved in righting the evils of our world. So what gives? Is bliss obtainable? Can we find our bliss? Does our life count, really, in the grand scheme of things? Can we, do we make a difference at all?

Find your bliss! Have you ever heard anyone say that? If so, it was probably a motivational speaker, leadership coach, or some other “talker”. It’s a great thought, isn’t it? How can we possibly make it reality? As foreign as the goal is to many, I would like to suggest that this idea is central to the living of our everyday lives. While we cannot and will not ever reach a problem free Utopian state here on earth, it is possible for us to obtain some sense of passionate recognition of our place and purpose here on this planet. Further, the extent to which we find that sense of place or calling, largely determines the quality of our lives.

As recently as this morning, before 9am actually, I have had two conversations with individuals who have seen success, career, and life leave them less than fulfilled. I run into the reality of “bliss-less” living more often than one would expect. Living in an affluent suburb where many run or own their own businesses, it seems that the fulfillment quotient remains alarmingly low. This morning and quite often in my consulting and leadership coaching, I advise people to consider how their heart will look ten years from now if they are still doing the same thing they are currently doing. I encourage folks, not to consider what the bank account will look like, but rather, what they as a person will look like internally. More often than not what I hear is the following, “I am so miserable doing what I do that I’m not sure I will last ten years.” Or some will say, “This just is not me. What I really want to do is… .” Then they ask me, “How do I do that?”

One of the practical realities in finding the life your were meant to live is simple really. Think about it…and do SOMETHING. When I find people who want a way to break free and find the life they are meant to live I get them to make a simple list. I will tell them, “If you could design a life that would make you most fulfilled what would it look like? What would you be doing.” Then I encourage them to think in terms of dream fulfillment. “If you were granted one wish, ” I offer, “…were promised you could not fail, were assured of complete success, were given all resources needed for success, and given your current strength and weaknesses…what dream would you pursue with the rest of your life?”

Every time I present this little bliss test, the dream factory kicks in and people’s countenance soars. Just thinking about what we can BE seems to lift our hearts. Just consider what DOING that which we were created to DO could accomplish relative to our bliss quotient if we lived according to who we really are and what we are most passionate about.

So, today, I offer the same advice to any of you who may be looking for a greater “quality” of life. By the way, that is all of us at one point or another. Most of us move in and out of that place periodically even when we are in tune with these realities. It is a constant creative process. Ask yourself today, “Am I living in a state of maximum fulfillment?” “Am I living the life God has called me to live?” “Is there something MORE God is offering me?” Once you answer those questions, take a step of faith and move toward your God-given vision. You may have to walk (or run) away from some things, and you may have to walk (or run) toward other things. Remember, along the way that “In Him (God), we live and move and have our being”. Until and unless we find our selves in Him we can never know why we were created and what we were created to do in this life. The road to your bliss begins in a relationship with your Creator, the Giver of true bliss.

For more on developing the kind of life you long for see the link below:

http://optimuslife.org/html/gameplan.html

Pursue your bliss,

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

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