En route to a café, where I would plant myself to write this article, I made an impromptu stop at a lil’ shop on Queen Street East in Toronto.
I was welcomed by a sparkly salesperson, with bright eyes, an exquisite moustache, and rings on every finger.
I tried on a few tops. Oh, how I love Fall clothing. Cozy is my favourite season.
On my way out, he asked what I was doing next. I told him I was headed to the café across the street to work on a piece about bliss for an online magazine. I confessed that I had too many ideas swirling through my brain, and was having a hard time landing on one.
I shared one of the thoughts I’d been contemplating, which led to a short, but soulful conversation on the subject. Just as I turned towards the door, he casually mentioned that his name -Anand- is Hindu for bliss. It stopped me in my tracks. It was such an unexpected and meaningful synchronicity. I walked out into the sunshine feeling connected, inspired and -finally- focused.
As with so many things, the most timely messages often come to us when we’re open. I see it as the Universe’s way of saying: “You’re on the right track. Keep going.”
The uplifting encounter reminded me of one of the greatest lessons I ever learned: “Leave room for the magic to happen.” It was gifted to me by Alan Mayer, a personal and career counsellor whom I had the great fortune to talk to for many years.
It’s possible to connect with bliss in many ways, but I would posit that bliss doesn’t happen unless you free yourself to find it… or, for it to find you.
The idea I shared with Anand was: “joy as a form of protest”. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot over the last couple of years. There is so much darkness in the world. It can drag a person into a spiral of rage and confusion. And, there are so many people vying for our attention. By now most of us know that social media traps us by way of negative engagement. The more anger a post incites, the longer we linger. Time is one of our most valuable currencies, and we are being robbed of it on the daily.
And every day the world will drag you by the hand yelling, 'This is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!' And each day it's up to you to yank your hand back and say, "No. This is what's important."
Iain Thomas
One of the most powerful things we can do to reclaim our time is to redirect our attention. We can do so by creating space to engage in the things, people and places that bring us joy. In turn, we are reminded of our shared humanity. And, in a society that benefits from keeping us divided, this is a fundamental truth that serves our mental health, physical health, and the health of our community.
We are overworked, over-scheduled and spend way too much of our days buried in our phones, looking down, distracted by sound bites. The beauty of disconnecting from our devices and looking up… of leaving room for the unexpected… is that a magical connection we might otherwise miss can show up on our path. And on this day, my path brought me to Anand: literal bliss.
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