Observe
What are you feeling right now? Are you happy, sad, content, lonely, depressed, hopeful, weary? Take time to acknowledge and name your current feelings.
Awaken the heart
Invest time in something you enjoy doing that is not required
Have a heart conversation with a friend or partner
Write a love letter to yourself or someone you love.
Collect inspiring stories or quotes
Watch “feel good” movies
Have a good cry
Create time to grieve loss and acknowledge any sadness in your life
Create a bucket list of things you want to do and enjoy
Create a photo book of special moments and highlights from the previous year - the fun, serious, laughable, stressful. Annotate with your own commentary.
Laugh! Watch a comedian, or tell funny stories with friends. Humor is a great way to capture our humanity and tap into our emotions.
Consider the heart
The best way to connect with your heart is by tuning into your feelings. The heart center considers our emotions first when making a decision and tunes into our desires. Sometimes, we tend to minimize our desires or consider it a virtue not to be swayed by emotion. Yet, often our feelings provide important insights into what we actually want in a situation or pain that we need to acknowledge before we can move forward.
As you seek to tune into your heart, check in to see what emotions you are experiencing. In any given situation, take time to consider what you actually want. What is drawing you toward a particular decision, or pushing you away from it? Is there unresolved pain or loss that may be holding you back? Does an activity or commitment energize you and fill you up, or does it leave you empty and depleted?
Opportunity to Reflect
When do you find yourself trusting your heart? What engages your heart and emotions?
What do you desire - for your life, for your work, for your family? Big or small.
What are you grieving?
Has your heart ever led you astray?
Opportunity to Grow
Pick an activity or two from the list above to incorporate into life over the next week.
Create a joy list of things, people, or activities that bring you joy. Invest in these regularly.
Related Resources
The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found by Angela Williams Gorrell
The Soul of Desire: Discovering the Neuroscience of Longing, Beauty, and Community by Curt Thompson
No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Needed to Hear) by Kate Bowler
The Dark Night of the Soul: A Psychiatrist Explores the Connection Between Darkness and Spiritual Growth by Gerald G. May
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