“Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.”
~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
In August of 2012, I was honored to be chosen to attend Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Training in San Francisco. It was AMAZING. I was surrounded by some of the most brilliant, progressive, and talented people I’ve met. Our training was thorough, intense, and inspiring. I was so pumped to be there and to be learning so deeply about what is happening to our natural environment (which includes us, of course!).
I’d always been an environmentalist, probably even before my 9th grade biology class, when my epic teacher, Mrs. Sleeper, taught us about the horrors of farm factory raised livestock, the abuse of animals in scientific testing, and the hidden, overlooked realities that so many of us just want to ignore because our hearts tell us that it’s wrong…and we’re too lazy, or too scared, or too hopeless to actually do something about it.
Anyway, at that ripe old age of 13 (I was young as a freshman, I know…more on that later if you’d like to know), I decided to practice vegetarianism. I knew that my heart could not bear the heaviness of contributing to such cruel practices. (I’m pretty sure that studying Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle, all about the stockyards, was probably a strong influence upon my decision as well). I knew that I, too, am an animal living on this planet and that we are all connected. How could I continue living in the same way that I had been now that this truth was revealed to me? I knew something drastic had to change. And it did. For more than five years, I was a strict vegetarian and I felt good to be living according to my convictions. I felt empowered to be choosing consciously to live in greater harmony with the creatures of our world.
It wasn’t long after this awakening, I also started learning about the tragic repercussions of careless and abusive practices by humans, especially since the Industrial Revolution. My heart was devastated by the knowing that we, as a species, were responsible for such disdainful destruction. I didn’t know exactly what to do, but I knew it had to be something.
I began with baby steps. I implemented the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle maxim and endeavored to find creative ways to lighten my footprint. As a college student, I volunteered with Greenpeace and have continued supporting them in the years since. I have lived consciously, fully aware of the impact that my choices have on everything else living upon our Great Mother Earth.
So, when I heard about Al Gore’s training, I was psyched. I couldn’t wait to expand my knowledge of the reality we are facing. I was totally absorbed and enthralled with the knowledge and wisdom that were shared.
And then, after my Climate Reality Training, despite the hopeful attitude that Al Gore imbued our training with, I came home and felt completely done. Wiped out. Exhausted. Hopeless beyond compare.
I’ve always been a happy person, definitely an optimist like my mama, and always looking on the bright side. And yet, for some reason, I could not get my head out of this utter despair, the hopelessness of knowing the reality of our climate crisis was just too much for me to comprehend, too much for me to bear.
I carried that heaviness of my newfound reality like the weight of the world on my shoulders. My hopelessness prevented me from taking action. I just couldn’t move forward knowing what I knew.
I seeped in my sadness for four months. I was devastated. I was overwhelmed. I was frozen by fear.
And then, one day in the fall, I realized that my despair was preventing me from doing good. If I submitted to the hopelessness I felt, how could I say that I did my best? How could I look my daughters in the eyes, and let them know that I cared enough to take action, to make space for hope, to imagine a brighter outcome?
Furthermore, how could I live a joy~centered life if I let the reality of our environmental challenge be a crisis rather than a call to action? How could I be my happy self if I stayed stuck dwelling on probability rather than possibility?
I made a choice. I decided to acknowledge my profound fear and sadness. I honored the way I felt, and then I let it go. I decided to empower myself with the motivation to do whatever I can to be the change I wish to see.
I started talking to people about solutions, about new ways of living and thriving in our world, about focusing on cooperation rather than competition, about revolutionizing the way we envision success, about making happiness a priority, about living harmoniously with our environment and one another, about choosing love…
I realize now that this intense hopelessness that ravaged my ability to move forward was a turning point for me. It reminded me of what so many people must feel, especially as they watch the depressing news, listen to negative colleagues, feel weighed down by stress or poor health, and allow these to keep them in a place of stagnation, of inertia, of giving up on what could be.
For this reason, I started my biz as The Happiness Artist. I realized that in order for me to be motivated to do good in the world, I had to connect with my inner joy first. You know what I’m talking about, that good feeling you get when you awaken and are excited for the adventures that await you…I needed to make happiness my priority so that I could offer my brightest light and live a life of service, of giving, of loving.
When we are defeated by tragedy, by loss, by despair, the hopelessness can sometimes devastate us, it can feel like a neverending dark tunnel from which there is no escape.
I’m here to let you know that there IS light at the end of the tunnel. Truly, you must look within yourself to find it…the light is YOU…let yourself be illuminated and your life will expand into everything you want it to be.
Take heart, dear friend. Remember that your thoughts guide your experience. Choose them wisely. Listen to your feelings, honor them, and then focus your intention on how you most want to feel. Allow your light to shine and beauty to unfold before your very eyes.
When we choose joy as the center of our lives, we create possibility to care about so much more than ourselves. We nurture ourselves, mind body & soul, and manifest the energy and enthusiasm that allows us to do great things, to be revolutionary, to create massive positive change, to live epic lives.
I’m here to support you on this journey. I want you to love yourself so much that joy just radiates from you and is shared everywhere you are. This is how we change the world. Being happy is a peaceful revolution.
If you’d like any guidance, let me know. I’m a writer, inspirational speaker and holistic life coach on a mission to revolutionize the way we live… to make happiness the priority and to offer radical guidance for joy~centered living: mind, body, and soul. Helping visionaries align with their joy and power to create the change they wish to see in the world.
I want you to thrive so that you can share the love…so you can be a catalyst for positive change and fulfill your highest good.
Let us remember that we are one. The more joy and love overflowing from your heart, the more loving our world will become.
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