Are you enjoying life | Elate Wellbeing

October marks the month of Halloween and the beginning of the multi-day holiday Día de Muertos, Day of the Dead, in Mexico. For me personally, October is also the month in which my father passed away in 2009.

So, I figured that it was about time we spoke about death – and the celebration of life.

Halloween is not simply about scary costumes and candy; it is the night before the Catholic holiday of All Saints’ Day on November 1, La Toussaint in French, when families gather around the graves of lost ones.

In Mexico, family and friends come together to pray for and remember members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey. As far as I heard, it’s much more colourful and festive than the Catholic gathering. Celebrating life, and honouring death.

Life & Death

Life is a spiritual journey……

Have you ever heard the saying that we are spiritual beings on a human journey?

Birth is a very painful experience for us. We are separated from our true origin – called in Kundalini Yoga the Sat Nam. We choose our mother and we choose this life we are born into.

Our soul, not or limited ego, chooses to be born. We incarnate, and we have come to fulfil a destiny which no one else can fulfil for us.

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience.
We are spiritual beings having a human experience.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Life is a treasure

Kundalini Yoga Humanology says that the goal is to be liberated while alive and not wait until death. Jiwan mukt.

Do not take life too seriously.
You will never get out of it alive.
Elbert Hubbard

When you are faced with the hour of death, you have 3 seconds to answer: Why did you come to Earth, and why did you have this particular life? What did you do here? Did you fulfil your purpose?

Celebrate Life

Remember, you will have 3 seconds (that’s really short!) to be content with your life, or condemn yourself for what you did – or did not do.

The palliative nurse Bonnie Ware recorded the most common regrets of the dying in a book called “The Top Five Regrets of The Dying.” The five top regrets of the dying were:

I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
I wish that I had let myself be happier.

This is Your Life

Happiness is a choice.

You chose this life in your particular family, in your specific situation.
This may already need a moment to get into your head and heart.

You have a destiny to fulfil.
Maybe it is being someone’s sister, son, partner….
Maybe you exist because you are supposed to be a mother.
Maybe it is something completely else.

Have you ever asked yourself this question:
If you could do anything in the world, and know you could make an awesome living while doing what you loved, what would it be?

Life is a commit–meant

How can I compile a list of hacks and advices that concern something so individual and personal like Your Life? I can’t. It’s your life, your decisions. I can however share some of my lessons.

If you don’t like how things are, change it. You are not a tree. (Jim Rohn)
Sometimes, the only thing that is holding you back is your belief that you cannot, you are not good enough, you are not worthy. You can be your own greatest obstacle or your own greatest asset.

There are three qualities that every individual must have to achieve success: A Monk’s patience, a Warrior’s courage, a Child’s imagination. (Sharad Vivek Sagar)
Life disputes you and you fight back. Some of you are in battles: of health, of justice, of freedom, for support from the community… don’t give up. Patience, courage, imagination, determination, commitment.

Whatever the challenge, never quit, never give up, never surrender. Charles M. Grist

Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. (Rumi)
You cannot change the other person. Nope. You can change yourself. That’s all. You want to change the world? Start with yourself. What is your contribution? Are you a vegetarian? Did you adopt an animal? Did you help your neighbour? Did you stop complaining? Why not 🙂

Understand through compassion or you will misunderstand the times. (Yogi Bhajan)
You can answer violence with violence, or you can choose not to. Let people be a mirror to reflect back to you what you need to address in yourself. Then, be compassionate with yourself.

Attitude, Gratitude, Plenitude. (Melanie Reid)
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melody Beattie

In Conclusion

We all have to sometimes remind ourselves of the purpose of life: have fun! Myself included. To be or not to be. Life and death. Death and life. Inseparable. The grave where you may be standing at this “Toussaint” November 1, was a person who came here to fulfil a life. Now ask yourself: what is yours? And, more importantly, are you enjoying yourself? Good 🙂

I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.
Arthur Rubinstein

Wahe Guru!

Light & Love