Life's Special Ingredients

and Week 24 of 40 Weeks of Inspiration

Feb 22

1×

0:00

-3:18

I dislike that my appetite for life can wane so easily based on how I’m feeling. I understand that my feelings feed my mood and thus my thoughts, a connected cycle. But when loneliness comes into play more often than I’d like it to, when my financial resources aren’t as plentiful as I’d hoped they’d be, when I still haven’t found an amazing partner to share in life’s experiences with, I find myself—more often than I’d care to admit—in a rut, wondering if my life will ever become more of the amazing life that I envision for myself.

Sprinkling in things that bring joy is an essential ingredient for climbing out of these ruts, but they’re not always enough. Even too much of a good thing can feel too repetitious—at least for me—my palate craving new flavors, needing something new to excite it. I also know that inspiration and creativity can be birthed while in these ruts. These moments tap on my shoulder, requesting acknowledgment and thus an evaluation of what is really going on for me, and what flavors are missing for a better recipe for my life. A creative spark can ignite from these ruts.

There is a delicate balance between the insatiable hunger I have for more and feeling satiated that some things, some days, are satisfying enough. But my wanderlust, explorative, always curious nature is not always in agreement with this line of thinking. It seems, even feels, illogical. I crave more. Excitement. Adventure. Experiences. Connection. Memorable moments. Love.

I feel like I do my best more often than not. I like to think I have navigated this journey pretty well so far, despite the potholes, detours and dead ends. But that doesn’t mean I don’t still seek a better road to journey down, one riddled with fun dips that bring butterflies to my stomach, lined with nature’s beauty, and blue skies overhead dotted with beautiful clouds. I am grateful for what I have, for what I have overcome, for how I have grown, but my soul knows there is so much more.

So I surround myself with as much inspiration as possible, whether that be shows or movies that I get lost in and those that mimic the life I would like to be living, or books that touch my soul in a new way, or artwork and photographs that showcase places I want to travel to or evoke the feelings that I want to integrate more of into my life. They are all reminders that I am still alive, still breathing, and that I still have time to continue tweaking my journey.

The question I need to ask myself more frequently is how can I add more of these special ingredients? How can I get closer to the amazing life I envision for myself? Day to day I mix in more of the smaller joys to help work through the loneliness and disappointment that seeps in when I’m feeling like my life still isn’t where I would like it to be. But I know deep within the crevices lays the hunger for bigger heaps of the delicious things that my soul never stops craving. So I tell myself I am doing the best I can with where I am at on my journey, and will continue working towards adding bigger heaps of the missing ingredients that my soul continues to crave more of.

LYF 💖

REFLECTION: What special ingredients do you crave more of in your life? How can you mix them in more regularly?