Think of a time you’ve squeezed a lemon until it’s dry. The juice dripping into the cup, or the bowl. You may have been making a cake, or perhaps a cocktail. Now think about doing that, but with your life.
Yeah? No. We want to stay full, and whole and keep that fun inside the lemon, i.e. you.
Let’s try not to worry about making every moment of our lives fun, and focus more on living through and in moments. Be present. Laugh. Have fun, yes. But fun is not the most important thing.
While smiles are gorgeous and something everyone deserves to have, we are not designed to have one plastered on our faces every moment, not expected to.
I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that young girls, and young women are expected to be happy, carefree and fun all the while holding down a job, or completing a degree and being an important part of family life. This is an unfair expectation placed on young women, and something we need to work to stamp out.
It wasn’t until I read Room To Bloom’s post Why I stopped worrying about whether I’m having enough fun that I realised I have been guilty of fearing there’s not enough fun in my life. I basically have related to the following, so much:
I know that it’s silly to worry about something so trivial, but there’s a deep ache that sits in my chest when I let myself believe that I’m not having enough fun. I know I’m still so young, but sometimes I sit back and realise that time is slipping through my fingertips like water and before I know it, I’ll be looking back and wondering where it all went. Sometimes I think that maybe I’ll look back on these years with a nostalgia that is rough at the edges with regret of not making the most of my youth.
This March, I’m attempting a blog post a day. I am really trying to up my writing, because I have been so out of flow. This may not materialise since the entire last eight or nine days of the month I’ll be living it up (drinking coffee and eating pastry and kebabs) in Bordeaux. So far, I’ve failed at this but as today I feel rather shitty, I decided to continue writing to this post.
It’s so important to catch and check your thoughts. It’s practically cognitive behavioural therapy. My younger sister, who wants to be a counsellor one day, and is currently studying A Level Psychology, has passed on some techniques from her own counselling sessions.
Usually I let thoughts run away with me and I dwell. But today I have totally caught the thought that I feel like crap and am checking it. I am reminding myself that I am loved, I am only an hour or so off starting work for the day, and I’ll be going home to my family. I’ll get to talk to my boyfriend on my break, and I’ll get a hug from my sister when I get home from work. Things are actually okay. This is just a temporary feeling.
Blossoming is a beautiful thing. There’s nothing more glorious than watching those around you bloom, and grow into the people they are. It is so easy to see the good in others, but sometimes we forget it is in ourselves too. Sometimes it may take others to show it to us, but once you find it hold on to it with both hands. Keep being kind, always. Kindness is the one thing is humans possess that brings glory to God, but also happiness and peace to the soul.
For now, be bold and be brave. Trust in your instincts and in wise words. Blossom like your favourite flower, and dream like you’ve never dreamt before.
Love,
Anna
kulayrosas 