4 Characteristics to Thrive Rather than just Survive
First, joy is essential! There is more than enough struggle and challenges that we face so let’s pause at least once a day to give thanks and to feel joy. Did you know that if you do this often enough throughout your day that you will rewire the mind for joy? And those neurons that fire together, wire together, and so when you seek moments of joy, its cousins, hope, love, and happiness become wired in as well.
So, be Joy-Full!
Second, knowing that God is near! As near as your very breath. God is near and everywhere you look. Just look around at the trees, the birds, the grass, your loved one … everyone and everything, reflects God. At birth we leave our mother’s dark warm womb to the shocking bright lights and the cold. Yet that first indrawn breath we take assures us that God’s spirit is never far from us. Our first breath is the breath and spirit of God that flows within our lungs, heart, and soul, and forever each breath reveals the presence of God, until our last.
You are Never Alone!
Third, Inclusive Love! The breath we take every moment is shared by everyone. The air you breathe, the breath you take, connects us to each other. All sentient beings share the gift of breath and spirit making us all the same regardless of colour, gender, vocation, rich or poor. There is no denying that we are ONE. One breath we share, one heartbeat resonating throughout the earth, and one song in harmony through inclusive love.
Everyone wants to be loved. Everyone has love to offer others.
Fourth, Prayer! We have an inborn desire for God. As Augustine proclaimed, “My heart is restless in you O Lord until it rests in you.” Prayer is that connection within and with God. Quieting the mind, creating inner silence, and mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.
Research regarding the benefits of prayer revealed a significant increase in the neural activity of the prefrontal cortex with prayer. This helps to maintain focused attention, improves learning and memory, helps with emotional regulation, aids in decision making, and problem solving.
In the beginning we may hear our own unruly inner noises more loudly than the inner silence and God’s whisper. But in time our mind quiets and deepens our awareness of ourselves and God. You do not have to go outside of yourself to come into real conversation with your soul. The eternal is at home in you.
The sacred place of possibility.
So Pray, Love, Know Joy, and Pause to Reconnect within, with God, and with Others.
Until next time many blessings, Sharon
