A student in my Finding Purpose course said something a few weeks ago that has really stuck with me. In speaking about her intentions for joining the course, she talked about wanting to find more happiness throughout her day, not just “at the margins” of her life.
I used to know happiness only at “the margins” too.
Back when I was an overworked, overwhelmed high school English teacher, my job demanded almost the entirety of my mental & physical energy. After the most demanding days, I would drive home in a daze, throw together some food for dinner, fall asleep, and then wake up to do it all over again.
Still, I had my passions: writing poetry, studying spirituality, practicing yoga & meditation, spending time in nature. But all of these passions were “at the margins” of my life, not the center.
I was a writer “on the side”, trying to write lines of poetry on the weekends. I would set my alarm early to meditate before rushing off to work, but more often I would hit the snooze button instead. I would occasionally go to yoga classes in the evening, but only when I wasn’t completely exhausted from teaching. Visits to beautiful natural places, like the mountains or the ocean, had to wait until holiday breaks.
Everything that was nourishing & joyful to me as a human being had to wait until the weekend, wait until I got off work, wait until vacation, wait until I could find some time.
That is living our lives in the margins.
And here’s the truth we all know in our bones:
We aren’t meant to live like that.
No child dreams of a life of workplace drudgery with only brief opportunities to explore their passion & enthusiasm.
When we were young, we dreamed of lives where our happiness, our enthusiasm and inspiration, our curiosity and creativity would be at the very center of our life.
But somewhere along the way, we buy into the idea that this is all a fool’s dream, a childhood fantasy we inevitably have to wake up from on the path to adulthood.
We resign ourselves to finding our joy in the margins, in those tiny slices of time between work, making dinner, folding the laundry, and getting to bed at a reasonable hour.
Reasonable. Responsible. Realistic.
But how is your soul?
How is your heart?
Are you living the life you actually want to be living?
The last few years of my life has been a journey of placing my joy & my passions at the center of my life, not just at the margins.
Writing, spirituality, meditation, nature now take center stage. What I love to do is at the heart of my daily schedule, not just squeezed in between the cracks.
Even as I write this while on a vacation at the beach, my “daily work life” isn’t actually all that different from my “vacation life.” Both are filled with what I love & what brings me peace. When our joy is at the center, we don’t have to “escape” our normal lives & “live the dream” only on weekends and holidays.
You can live the dream all the time.
You deserve to have joy at the center of your life, not just at the margins.
But deserving doesn’t automatically make it reality. It take courage, commitment, and boatloads of integrity to live from the center.
It also really fucking helps to have support.
That’s what my work as a life coach is all about.
As I made my transition from stressed-out teacher to joyfully self-employed life coach, I received lots of support from mentors & coaches. I was supported in developing my vision, taking action aligned with my soul’s purpose, and was held accountable to following through on my dreams.
If you are ready to start living the life you want, finding joy not just in the margins of your life but from the beating heart at the center, I’m here for you.
If you’ve read this far, there’s something calling you.. a path waiting to be discovered. So I invite you to join me for a 30 minute Pathfinding Session where we talk about your joy, your dreams, and the path you are ready to walk.
To book your free Pathfinding Session, click on this link: https://www.apathtocallyourown.com/bookings-checkout/pathfinding-session/book
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