If finding bliss is a priority in YOUR life, you’ll be interested in what our guest author, Eliza Fayle has to say. After all, if bliss is a state reserved for angels and saints, why bother talking about it? But Eliza and I think it’s available to everybody. That means you.
So what is bliss? According to the dictionary it is contentment, supreme happiness, or utter joy. Given this definition, is it possible to truly live a blissful life?
Actually, yes a blissful life is quite achievable. First, however, we need to break down bliss into the component parts that lead to the supreme contentment, happiness and joy.
Bliss Is Mundane
That’s right, mundane. Sounds counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? You were likely picturing bliss as a constant state of ecstasy, but in reality that would be quite exhausting.
In the past, people would ask me “What’s new?” and I would give them a list of the extreme ups and downs in my life, and the lives of my children, parents, siblings, friends … you get the idea. Life was full of drama. Yes, I might at times be experiencing extreme bliss, but I was also experiencing utter discontent.
Now people ask me “What’s new?” and with a big smile on my face, I tell them “Absolutely nothing.”’My life is not boring. Far from it! But it is no longer filled with drama. It just chugs along smoothly, and every day I give a little sigh of contentment.
Bliss Is Centered on Self
Notice I did not say self-centred, which has a negative connotation. Rather, centred on self means every decision is made based on what is truly right for you.
I used to be a classic people pleaser. I would do what I thought people wanted done. I would say what I thought people wanted to hear. I would give because I thought that is what people wanted to receive. In the end, nobody was happy.
Now I always take the time to ask myself if each action performed, word spoken, or gift given is right for me. If it is not, it does not happen. This means that I no longer feel put upon and exhausted. Instead, I am consistently happy, and oddly enough this happiness extends to everyone I interact with.
Bliss Is Letting Go
There is a reason that bliss is associated with the statement “This is heaven”. In order to truly live a blissful life, you have to trust in something outside of yourself. This is not religion specific; rather a trust in a divine force, whatever form that takes for you.
I was a control freak. Not about other people so much, but I needed to control me. Everything had to be planned down to the letter. I had a constant ‘need to know’, and throwing a surprise at me was tantamount to torture. I also tightly controlled my emotions, afraid to trust and love deeply.
A break up of a long term relationship put an end to all that. Over the course of a year, I learned to let go and just breathe. Then I met Mr. Very Right and I learned to trust and to love very deeply. Now I just go with the flow. This means partnering up with a divine force that presents me with the most amazing adventures and opportunities. I can honestly say I experience joy every single day.
You Can Live A Blissful Life
It has taken me almost half a century to figure out how to do it, but I now lead a blissful life. We all can if we simply:
Embrace the mundane
Focus on what is right for us
Let go and trust in the divine
Eliza Fayle is author of Silver & Grace, a blog dedicated to aging gracefully be it physical or spiritual. She enjoys a blissful life in Quebec, Canada, with her husband, two cats, two rats and three fish.
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