Joy and Freedom on Demand

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My absolute favorite Dr. Suess book is Oh, The Places You’ll Go! Right smack in the middle of the story is a description of…

“a most useless place…

…the waiting place. For people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go

Or a bus to come, or a plane to go

Or the mail to come, or the rain to go

Or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow

Or waiting around for a Yes or No

Or waiting for their hair to grow.

Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite

Or waiting for wind to fly a kite

Or waiting around for Friday night.

Or waiting perhaps for their Uncle Jake

Or a pot to boil, or a Better Break

Or a string of pearls or a pair of pants

Or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

Everyone is just waiting.”

Are you laughing yet? I do every time. Because, like a child, I find myself hurrying around impatiently for things to happen more often than I’d like to admit.

Like last Tuesday, when I sat in my car idling for eight and a half minutes while waiting for the local train to pass so I could make it to my kid’s school.

It was about to rain, and we had to get home before the storm got too bad.

Meanwhile, my phone lights up like fireworks on the fourth of July because my person is waiting for an answer, but I have to wait until I get home to text him a yes or a no.

When I finally get home, I check my Amazon order status to see that I’m going to need to wait three more days for my hair growth serum, and my split ends aren’t getting any better!

Leave it to Dr. Suess to give us the funniest representation of how ridiculous humans can be. Someone, somewhere, once said; things that ring truest make us laugh the hardest.

So, what’s the solution? How do you get out of waiting and into feeling joyful and free?

I think the key is to decide to feel what you want and then fully engage in what you’re doing. Meet the present moment with enthusiasm!

Even if you’re cleaning a toilet. Isn’t it great that you can choose whether or not to clean the toilet? That’s freedom.

If I don’t want a dirty toilet, I’m going to get satisfaction from cleaning it. I may not enjoy cleaning anything in the bathroom, but it really only takes five minutes. When I’m done and wash my hands, I feel joy because my toilet is clean.

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

I love the freedom I enjoy; it makes me happy! With a slight change in perception, almost anything can feel joyful.

I chose to write about this topic because I myself want to know how to feel joyful and free as often as possible. The rules of manifesting, hermetic principles, and laws of physics all suggest creating the emotions you imagine having when you get what you want to bring that desire into your life…faster!

It’s the secret, right?

That’s why I thought I’d better hurry up and write this article.

I had to do a somatic practice to get in the right headspace, find inspiration, and get happy. I set my intention on magnetizing abundance. I could figure out the feeling part later.

Closing my eyes, I conjured a vision, leaning on all five of my senses to give life to my desire.

Breathing into my body, I imagined seeing vibrant colors. Everything was brighter, and I could see clearly even though it was nighttime. I felt light with a tingling sensation all around my neck and head.

I could hear flowing water, birds chirping, leaves rustling, and someone I admire whispering nice things to me.

Breathing in the smell of fresh air, honeysuckle, and jasmine, I saw a plate next to me with fruit, cheese, cashews, and freshly baked bread. I ate some of the food, savoring the taste, and noticed a heavy feeling in my head lifting.

It must be the sense of freedom and peace I felt flooding my senses.

Ever since then, I’ve been in a flow state. So I’m enjoying writing, and now I remember the point of all this!

The future destination doesn’t matter because I’ll never get there. I’m already here.

If I can’t find joy in the bird chirping outside my window or experience the satisfaction of biting into the sourdough loaf I just took out of the oven, I must be asleep. Or maybe I forgot how good water feels on a hot day.

Because, actually, I am abundance. At the center of my being lies power beyond my human capacity to understand. With one breath and five thoughts, I have the freedom to turn wherever I am and whatever I’m doing into joy.

Choose joy. Choose freedom. Remember your happy place.