Tag: #lessonsthroughjoy

Journey to finding my missing joy –

emyminzel

 

Do you have experienced those days when everything seems to be a little off? The events that happen are bothersome but not necessarily bad, just annoying persistent incidents peppering you though out the day. I’ve been dropping things a lot, having minor accidents and there was a great deal of miscommunication happening as well. Emails, texts, even verbal expressions seem to be just a bit off, enough to confuse.

Every little thing seems just to be annoying me and able to get under my skin. Recently I’ve had several pieces of bad news hit very close to home. These happenings have put my ‘off days’ into perspective and make me thankful the worst thing that happened to me personally, was falling off the couch while watering a hanging plant. Just call me Grace!

Thankfully none of these occurances have been too rough to handle, and that’s a blessing. Yet this news has made me very contemplative. After weeks of it, I find myself looking up to the heavens and ask. “What the heck?!” It feels as if getting through life has been like pushing a boulder uphill.

Now, I don’t mind hard work or getting my hands dirty when my heart is behind the task. So metaphorically pushing my boulder of life uphill is something I understand that must happen occasionally. Especially when duties I work so hard at benefit the goals I am trying to manifest to fruition. Worky, work! Busy bee! That’s me.

As I hear pieces of bad news floating around me and affecting others I love, I have started to look within and purposely count and appreciate my blessings. I believe life is doing its best to reveal what that needs to change in my life. My days have been full of working, cleaning, working, sleeping, working, eating, worry and more working. Though I have been working a great deal and I enjoy my work, it’s still work!

I feel as if I am missing fun, laughter, happiness, and joy in my life. I have not made connection, play or love a priority these days, and it has always been something that can be put off for later. If I don’t catch myself allowing this behavior, it seems to me like my life starts to reflect this, and before I know it, I turn into a downer! I do not like this one bit!

I honestly cannot remember the last time I belly laughed or felt truly happy. As they say, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” This sentiment is precisely how I’ve been feeling and acting. Do you ever feel this way at times? Even though I believe life is to be enjoyed and lived fully, I have not been doing so great at it. What needs to change is the amount of effort I put towards organizing and allowing joy, play, and fun!

Although I know that happiness is something you create for yourself, I think it’s a good idea to ask my loved ones to join me on my journey to finding more joy. After all, what supports happiness more than sharing time with your favorite people? Making time for myself and my family has a way of filling my soul and lifting my energy and attitude about life. How about you?

All the news I hear and as I witness loved ones struggling, it has me remembering to counting my blessings and saying. “Thank you for this day.” The minute I open my eyes in the morning. I’ve started wearing my prayer beads again, each time I notice them, I say the same simple prayer of “Thank you.” It’s a reminder for myself to be grateful for this life I’ve been blessed with.

Sometimes I find it’s just the energy I bring to any activity that makes it seem fun. Turning exercise into a nature hike with my daughter and our dog, Hank is a great way to add bonding time. These simple heart-centered connections help bring joy into my days. I am going to work on re-directing my focus and energy on my blessings. These events and news have shaken me up and have helped to reorganize my priorities to their proper order.

When life gets heavy, I’ve found that is when it’s time to count your blessings, add family, friends, and fun. I know it is up to me to put myself into situations that will help lift my spirit. These things that help us find our smile again are as personal and specific to everyone as our taste buds, and I know my favorite flavors of fun! I hear the messages loud and clear. It’s time to cook up a life that feeds my heart and my spirit!

I have decided to embark on a new journey to add joy to my life and remove what does not. I have set my intention for this summer. I will call this 2019 journey, The Summer of Love, Sun and Fun! I want to reconnect and strengthen bonds. I choose to laugh, play and truly enjoy the people in my life that make it so great.

What do you say? Would you like to join me?!

What are the ways you put play, fun, and laughter into your everyday life? I’d love to hear your suggestions!

Sending love, blessings, and joy,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@EmyMinzel

www.AdventurewithEmyandStacy.com

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

 

 

The purpose of changes and transition –

emyminzel

There have been some major evolutions happening in my life this past year. I feel like every single facet of my existence has been touched by change. All of it! There’s been so many evolutions that I believe I too have changed because of them. As humans do, we tend to appreciate our blessings and situations a little more after we’ve had an opportunity to see them in a different light. Sometimes we must first come very close to losing something we cherish, before we can see how valuable it really is to us. Is this true for you too?

I have been blessed with many opportunities to see just how wonderful my life is, after several lessons through joy allowed me to realize this! After experiencing a whirlwind campaign life; I am much more inclined to thoroughly enjoy quite weekends with my loved ones and evenings to myself. I now have time to make a home cooked meal, clean the house and even exercise, now that my schedule isn’t jam packed with campaign responsibilities. My life was like a soup. It was up to me to add spice to a dull dish, since I am the cook, right?! When I decided to add more excitement and flavor to my days/life, I changed the dish and it changed me.

Having the experience of being excessively busy, has helped me re-find the joy in my everyday tasks that once seemed boring. My perspective of working from home has shifted. I always knew I was blessed to do so, yet after this last year, I feel like my definition of work has changed and that my career has benefitted from my attitude adjustment. I very much enjoy my routine and the peaceful life now; when not long ago, there were days it made me mad with monotony! My career has allowed me to help others in my community and this brings me much joy and fulfillment. It just took me a bit to realize it!

My one and only child, moved out last Summer and that was also a huge life changer. I always knew she was going to go! After all, that’s why we raise our children the best we can. So they can be their best when they go out into the world. Yet, I miss her so much sometimes that I find myself texting, calling and making up silly questions just to hear from her. This has allowed me to appreciate the time we get to spend together much more, and I make it as special as I can.

The truth about my marriage was that we weren’t doing so hot, for a bit, last year. I mean that’s marriage for you; some years are easier than others. There is always love, but the friendship and bond we had built needed maintenance and I wasn’t able to give it the time it deserved for a while. The campaign was a wonderful distraction from our problems, but it also kept us from resolving our issues sooner than we did. I cannot blame the election for any troubles, that would not be fair or true.

It just so happened that the election occurred during this life lesson in marriage. I considered this time challenging, but we came out stronger for it. That was worth the experience and change of perception as well. I love my husband dearly. He is my best friend. This experience has helped me see just how much I treasure him and our relationship. This was a blessing inside the lesson through joy.

Even my friendships seem to have been touched by my change of perspective over the last year. I have learned to allow others leeway for humanness and I now freely give the benefit of the doubt. I have learned to love others as they are, unconditionally and without trying to push my ideals upon them. I have come to see my own quirks as something that may seem eccentric to others, but i’ve also learned to accept and love myself because these qualities are what make me special. I have learned this is what makes my loved ones special too!

I have learned that with age comes wisdom and that I have a whole lot of learning left to do! I believe I was also learning to love myself as I love others. This last year of my life has been a year of transformation, movement and growth that needed to happen. I am so thankful for all these lessons through joy, even if they may not have always seemed joyous at the time. Life has a beautiful way of bringing you full circle, to want what you need that helps you become who you are supposed to be.

I am love. You are too.

Wishing you the magical soulful healing you need right now to be the best you can be.

With love,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@EmyMinzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

*Photo taken in Princeton, MN – homegrown old fashion vining petunias!

Finding a balance ~

emyminzel

Finding a few small steps towards finding balance ~

Do you ever have a hard time keeping balance in your life? I think most people do at various times. I know some days I do much better than other days but giving and receiving are part of how the world works. It’s an energetic exchange that applies to the natural world and what you give out should be coming back to you. Very similar to how we go to work; then we get a paycheck. Most of us would not go to work every day if we were not getting something of value in return, right?

I’ll give you an example; Stacy and I have decided to dedicate ourselves to a 40-day Nabhi Kriya Kundalini Yoga practice as part of our self-healing journey. It is a spiritual and physical challenge to make our well-being a priority and it also needs to be done every single day, for 40 days. Some days we breeze through easy peasy. Other days we put it off until the last minute. Last Friday I squeaked it in just before midnight!

As part of this Yoga routine, they give you about a 4-minute rest period call Savasana/Corse pose. I have noticed, that when I am super busy with life things, I get a bit antsy when laying there. Thinking. “okay. Is this part over yet? I have things to do.” The routine gives you this time to rest and reflect as it is part of the spiritual teaching and holds a significant purpose; that is why they put it in the practice.

Nabhi Kriya is almost like an aerobic exercise and feels like a workout. I truly enjoy how it makes me feel and the energy it gives me. But I seem to have this urge to deny myself the ‘resting’ part of the practice, when I have really earned it! I literally feel my brain wanting to reject receiving what it is my body/mind/spirit needs, after this physical practice and for what?!

This is not the natural way of the world. To give and to receive in perfect balance is the way it is supposed to work. I am not doing myself any favors by thinking I don’t have the time or deserve the rest my body needs after this workout. I make myself lay and finish the Savasana, clearly, I realize I must train my brain to allow myself to relax.

This is probably why lots of people think they are not ‘good’ at meditating. It’s our overactive minds keeping us from peace. It is our job to control our thoughts and actions. If we train ourselves to exercise every day for 40 days, we sure should be able to meditate or stay in a state of relaxation for 5 minutes a day!

Doing this practice has led to a huge self-realization that I have not been allowing myself to receive the rest/relaxation/good feelings, that I know in my heart, I have ‘earned’ after doing the work! Do you know how this hidden habit I formed, can block my progress in everyday life?! Holy moly kids! This is a breakthrough discovery!

The realization that I do not easily allow myself to receive, has led me to act on that imbalance in all areas of my life. There is a mantra I like to use that serves as a reminder for my brain. “I take in life in perfect balance.” It is a verbal queue to let me allow myself to give and receive what it is I need.

It may even be a bit of human nature to martyr. That is because it is easier to give than receive for some people. When we see people who live like this, it’s easy to see it is not a healthy way to live. You also must work on filling your own cup.

We are not made to give and give until there is nothing left. It’s not the way the universe is supposed to work! There are plenty of us who have this habit and we don’t even see it. Now that my eyes have been opened, I will give you an example of how I made steps to correct it.

Just this weekend we had plans to have Stacy and Marty come over to play cards and have dinner. Stacy and I usually just make appetizers and don’t make a fuss about food for the evenings we gather to do this, just keep things simple. However, this weekend I wanted to make dinner for them because it was Marty’s birthday and I wanted to do something kind for my friends.

When I told Stacy what I was planning she said. “You don’t have to do that!”

I said. “I know! But cooking is how I show love, so please let me!” She obliged and I was thankful for her allowing me to share love with my dear friends.

It turned out that Marty came down with the stomach bug and they could not come for cards and dinner. “Bummer!” but totally understandable. I was thankful they didn’t come and share it! Yet, I had made plans to make cheesecake since it was a special birthday occasion. I found myself thinking, “Well, I don’t need to make this cheesecake, do I?”

Then I thought on it some more… I was denying myself and my husband the desert just because we weren’t having company? This is a silly way to think! We deserve dessert too, don’t you think? (Heck ya!)

So, I made the cheesecake and the dinner we had intended. Guess what?! They were both delicious! There was no need to deny myself after the work of shopping, cooking, cleaning and preparing throughout the day. Which is exactly what I normally would have done, if I had not recognized my own behavior because of this Nahbi Kriya practice!

It is funny how the Universe puts lessons inside of lessons for me. I have enjoyed learning my lessons through Joy and sharing them with others in hopes of helping them too! Here are some other ways I will work on allowing myself to give and receive, in balance, as it should be.

  1. When I purchase new clothes or shoes; I will promise myself to donate or discard the same number of items from my wardrobe that I no longer like or wear.
  2. When I am thanked or praised by another I will say ‘thank you’ instead of dismissing the compliment. I will allow myself to receive kindness instead of brushing it off. I will freely give praise and kindness to others as well.
  3. When I have an abundance of something, I will share it with others. I will allow others to share their abundance with me! This usually happens regularly with friends that garden and is a joyous experience for all involved!
  4. In a bigger picture kind of way, I am going to make a big effort to donate blood once a month. If I want a good life, wouldn’t it be a cool way to pay it forward by donating blood that gives life?! I like to think so.
  5. After a work week, I will do better at scheduling time to play and relax on the weekends; doing things that bring me joy. I tend to want to use the weekend time to ‘get things done’ instead of recuperating for the next week to come. I will schedule time and make plans to live, laugh and love! Plus, there is a reason we call Sunday, the day of rest!

There are lots of ways to practice giving and receiving and some of us are better at one than the other. Yet it is still very important to find balance, for all of us, for a healthy mind, body, spirit life!

What are the habits and intentions you use to bring balance into your life? I’d love to hear your suggestions. They may help more people than you know!

Wishing you the magical soulful healing you need right now to be the best you can be.

With love,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@EmyMinzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

 

Are you scared to be happy?

emyminzel

No, it’s not a trick question. I am honestly wondering if I am the only one with this fear or not? I was standing in the kitchen this afternoon. I just had a couple of clients. I blew off the snow in the driveway and now I am jamming out in the kitchen to Bruno Mars and cooking dinner. I have had a most lovely regular Tuesday that I have had in a while.

As I stand, stirring dinner on the stove top, singing to the dogs and dancing a bit. I realized just how genuinely happy I was feeling! Isn’t that wonderful?

Except, just as quickly as I recognized this feeling of joy, I was like “Oh this is scary. I better not get to happy, I might jinx myself.” Then as I began to recognize this joy sabotaging behavior, I had just put myself through, I stopped. Thinking to myself some more. “What the heck am I doing?! No. I choose to take this joy back, right this minute.” So, I did. I allowed myself to be really gosh darn happy as I cooked and danced.

Then I thought to myself. “Am I the only person who does this? How many of us sabotage our own joy out of fear of being let down? What IF bad news comes later? That’s life. For this exact moment in time, it is okay to enjoy your life!” I am thankful that I noticed this behavior as I could have easily slipped into wondering thoughts of ‘what ifs’ instead of appreciating the moment of joy I had been blessed with.

It’s not like I don’t have any problems, but at this moment, I don’t have anything ‘bad enough’ to derail my well-deserved peace. It was almost as if this feeling of joy was uncomfortable! I never have thought of myself as an unhappy person. I like to stay positive. Yet I have not been allowing myself to truly feel free of worry or concern for some reason or other!

It’s as if I had been so stressed out that I just accepted this thinking as my way of life and “this is just how I feel now.” When my moment of happiness came out, my inner worry wart was quick to smashed it like a mosquito that had just disturbed my summer hammock nap.

I want to know, does this happen to you too?

Now that I have seen this peculiar behavior, I fully intend to change it for the better. This is what they mean by living in the now. Now just happens to be a perfectly lovely ordinary day in which all is okay in my world. I am so thankful for this blessing and the relief that I feel when I allow this joy to flood into my soul.

This big ol’ full moon must have allowed me to release the block/barrier I didn’t see that I had. I can see now that it was preventing me from truly allowing joy into my life. I am thankful for the opportunity to see so clearly and now this should allow me to grow in a positive way. As an energy worker I know that if you are scared to allow joy in, why would it show up for you?

I must not allow myself to associate happiness and joy with and uncomfortable feeling of panic! (Insert high five to my face… Duh.) But like they say, admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. I am hoping to allow my happiness to flow so large that it becomes contagious to everyone I encounter.

Let’s try an experiment together, shall we? Just how long can you and I hold on to the feeling of joy and happiness? How many hours will we allow ourselves the indulgence? Do me a favor and do not be scared that your joy may shine in some one’s eyes. If they are your friends and love you; they will be happy for your happiness.  Also, they may just be scared to be happy too?!

I love it when life sends me lessons through joy!

Please post and share your smile with the Adventure Sisters in the comments down below! We would love to see our comment section full of joy today!

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings with no strings attached!

Love to you all Adventurer’s!

With love,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@EmyMinzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

 

Finding Joy

emyminzel

Adventure Sister Stacy and I have a book we wrote on called Lessons Through Joy. We tell stories about how we were tired of learning lessons the hard way and decided it was time we started learning lessons through joy. It was an intentional manifestation of how we were willing to ‘learn our lessons’. Believe it or not, we did learn many lessons through joy after we sent that request up to the heavens in a fire ceremony in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

I believe that because we were expecting God/Spirit to answer our request; it happened. We had also made steps to purposely look for the blessings in each of our situations, deciding to focus on the good rather than what we perceived as bad. Stacy and I often consult each other when life gets rocky. We depend on each other to be there when we need to talk or vent our frustrations. I depend on her to remind me of the good, when I have had a bad day.

Bad days happen to us all, often when it rains it pours and somedays it can feel overwhelming. I am human, I have bad days. Lately its been storming, shaking things up in my calm life. I feel the need to step back and look at the big picture. There are things demanding my attention keeping busy and distracted from what was and is truly important to me in my life.

I have big dreams goals and aspirations folks! Sitting on my tush isn’t going to get me there and I know I’m busting my butt for a good reason. I am dedicated my goals. This is not to say that it is always fun or exciting. Some day’s all these goals and dreams take a lot of hours, leaving no time to relax or enjoy nature I love so much. Some day’s make me think can I really have it all? Can I really write books, run for State Office, run a business, enjoy the great outdoors, and have a happy family all at the same time????

Yet, I know deep in my soul, I cannot and will not quit. That’s not who I am. That’s not what I want. What I have decided to do instead is to ask the Universe again, to start helping me learn my Lessons Through Joy. I know it is possible because it’s happened before. I am going to choose to look for the blessings in my situation. I am choosing to be thankful for all the opportunities I am offered.

I believe that Spirit would not give me these opportunities and desire to make a difference in the world if I was not able to achieve them. I believe if by chance I don’t succeed, I will still be just fine.  I also believe the way I choose to look at things is how I choose to experience life. If I think today is crap, then in fact I will have a craptastic day.

If I wake up and decide I am ready to seize the day, I usually do! I’ll admit once in a while I wake up on the wrong side of the bed. My attitude sucks and I need to adjust it, or my day will reflect my energy. Today was one of those days. I spent all day in a miserable mood, sharing my energy with my family and receiving what I had given.

I complained to Stacy and as she usually does, she helped me put things into perspective. She’s not in the thick of things here at my house, she can see the forest and that I am just a tree in it. Stacy reminds me to step back, relax and to see the blessings in the situation. So instead of complaining about to do’s and such, I am going to express my gratitude for all I am blessed with today.

I am thankful for the generous people who have offered and delivered exceptional help to the Emy for House Campaign. These people have been a blessing since the moment I met them. I will probably never be able to repay my gratitude for their time and energy donated to help me win. These people help me believe there is an abundance of good in the world.

I am thankful for my husband who supports all my big dreams, aspirations and goals even when they are a lot of work for him and take time away from our family. He is devoted and takes care of me with stability, strength and love. I am blessed beyond words to be the one he loves this much.

I am thankful for my daughter who I think of as a great friend, she gets me out of the house, takes me and the dogs on walks because she knows just when we need them. My daughter is an amazing, and kind young woman who I am incredibly proud of. I am thankful for that.

My mother and I have not been able to see each other much but I try to be in touch with her more often then we used to. I love her lots and I know she loves me. I am very blessed to have my mom, she shaped the strong willed, big hearted woman I am today, I am thankful for this too.

I have tremendous friends and supportive family. Even though they may not understand my desire to do all I do, they love me and support me anyway.

I am thankful to have a roof over my head, enough to eat and a life that keeps me feeling alive. To feel strongly and feel big feelings is human and what makes me chase my goals. When it feels like a bigger job then I anticipated, its up to me to trust that I will not be delivered anything I cannot handle. It’s up to me to find my Lessons Through Joy every day.

Wow, I feel better after I see my blessings on paper.

I wonder how many times I have counted them out while complaining about trivial situations? I hope not too many. I know many of you understand that life can feel heavy, and somedays it pushes more than you think you can take. I believe all of us feel that way at one time or another. What is important is to step back, count your blessings, be sure to acknowledge there is always, always, always, something to be thankful for.

 

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@emyminzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com