Daily Inspiration 6-12-16

"It is not doing the thing 

we like to do, 

but liking the thing 

we have to do, 

that makes life blessed." 

-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

I pondered this Goethe quote for some time. Who doesn't like doing the things that we like doing, love doing? And, who likes doing the things we don't want to do? One would think that the former is happiness, and the latter is unhappiness. What might it be like to do the things we like or love to do all of the time, and never, ever do anything that we feel that we have to do? I don't know. However, if I find a way to like what I feel that I need to do, or maybe it is others who want me to do, then I could be doing what I like to do all of the time.

But the thing that struck me about this second part of the quote about liking the thing we have to do, is that the first part comes natural, like a child playing, while the second part is not natural, yet learnable. And, once we learn how it works, it will become more natural, or it will flow more smoothly.

It is a worthy endeavor to consider ways in which to like that which we need to do.

How can we make it fun? How can it be enjoyable? What can we learn from the experience? How can learning to enjoy this enhance my life?

I know that when I have things that I don't want to do, I seem to have roadblocks, or walls, or mountains in my way. I fully realize that I created them, but that doesn't change the fact that they are there. This causes pause. It creates procrastination, which is a purposeful pause. The purpose is to avoid doing what I don't want to do.

It also applies to that which I don't quite know how to do.

Not knowing how creates more walls, mountains, swift and deep rivers to cross. I say things like, how am I going to get this done? How will I figure it out? Who can I get to help me? I need help! I don't know who to call. Frustration, powerlessness, procrastination.

So, how do I make it fun? Enjoy the process? Move the mountains, forge the rivers, blow up the walls?

One way is to make it a game. Another is to take a little bit at a time. Another is to ask someone. Heck, maybe it's on YouTube! Or maybe there's an online class. I could reward myself, treat myself for making some kind of progress,

But, in the end, I think what it comes down to is laying down my notions that it is something I don't want to do and then practice allowing life to unfold and show me something I haven't seen. It's like treating it as an adventure, going to a foreign land where I don't speak the language, but I see so many interesting things that I've never seen before--or that I never would have seen if I didn't allow the unfolding.

A sense of adventure, allowing our lives to unfold in our travel through life, a willingness to learn and find new ways to enjoy our life are all worthwhile in doing the things we love to do and loving the things we need to do.


Oh, Did I Mention That It Is Worthy Of Practice? 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing some more unfolding to come through.