Summary: This article is about how you can live and experience life more fully & richer. This is often not the case in a world with superficial interactions where many things go fast. This article gives you a few techniques to live life more fully, for more peace, wisdom and joy.
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Last week I was speaking with a client and I asked her what her goal was for this new year. Her children said their mother got older every year. That’s right, but she was looking to live life more fully & richer while getting older.
I can imagine that in a fast and volatile society where we want more, experience and learn everything quickly. This ensures superficial relationships and short-term learning moments.
I am currently experiencing it with my blind typing course. I would like it to learn faster. Also, I often want to finish projects sooner. Does this sound familiar to you too?
Some things, however, take time. More time to understand something, to gain insight, or to realize something. That is why it is not possible to have many goals (see my previous article). Also it makes it difficult for anyone to take a step back and make better, more thoughtful choices when life is so busy and everyone grabs your attention.
To live life more fully & richer is therefore a very good goal. Another advantage is that a memory, an experience or a new habit will be much more sustainable.
How do you live life more fully? How do you experience that? Here are a number of possibilities:
Reflect
Reflecting is taking time to think about a particular event, situation or experience. This can be anything (a presentation, a project, a conversation or the highs / lows of a day). And this means being true to yourself. Check what went well during a conversation today, what could have been better? Read this article for the benefits of self- reflection.
I have reflected a lot in recent years. In my drawer there are still diaries from my teenage years. All full of experiences, dreams, hopes and feelings. For me, this is a way to better understand and to let go.
Only recently I have learned something new: It is all good to reflect but there must also be an action related to what you learn while reflecting. An example is that after reflection I found out that I sometimes want to respond too quickly to what someone says. An action is then to listen more with empathy and letting go of my own agenda.
I recently heard another good question to reflect on. It is by Jason Silva.
He is an American filmmaker, futurist and philosopher. He urges you to become more alive by asking yourself what gives you goosebumps, the chills or what makes you well up. For me this is receiving a hug after a successful training where someone was touched and uplifted. What are you going to do to become more alive?
Write
As I already wrote above, I have many diaries. Writing in a diary (but also writing a blog!) Is a way of reflecting, structuring thoughts and understanding so that you can let go and continue. Have you never had or written in a diary? Start with the 5 minute journal!
To live life more fully you can also write down what thoughts have gone through your mind during an experience. Why did you do something or why didn’t you do or say something? This often leads to interesting revelations.
Typing or writing? I do both but I find writing with a pen calmer and more direct (maybe that’s because I cannot type so fast …). Every day I write in my diary but every month I write a report of the month with my highs or lows. I type that and that takes more time for now.
You can also send a letter (card) to someone. Thoughts, feelings, experiences and dreams can often be described much more vividly in a letter than in a WhatsApp or telephone conversation.
Read
And that’s why I like reading. I read a lot. (See this and this article about valuable books that I’ve read or search under “book review” in my blogs). Not only to relax, but above all to learn something new. To get new facts, insights or ways of thinking. This provides more depth for me to experience life more fully but also on how I communicate with others.
Communicate
I like to tell (and write) about things that I have read. Then I understand and remember it better. This often leads to uplifting conversations with more depth. You can also have more depth in a conversation by listening better (here are 7 ways to do this better), by having empathy (how? Read it here!) and by asking good questions (here a few questions). Then there is compassion. This is similar to empathy. The difference between empathy and compassion is that with compassion there are no emotions, that it is unconditional and that you are aware of a deep connection between you and everyone in your environment.
Give Service
I experience life more fully when I give of myself. When I give someone attention, when I am volunteering or when giving some charitable service. They deepen our compassion and help to experience interconnections.
Contemplate
Contemplation is a form of reflection. It is an active inner reflection. For me, the biggest difference between contemplating and meditating is that meditation is rather passive. In contemplation you can sing a mantra or word. I sing this word which that brings peace, reassurance, stability, joy, love and brings me into contact with a universal wisdom. There are many words that you can sing during contemplation. Find one that is powerful for you. You do not necessarily have to sing a word. It can also say a prayer. As long as it is not steering or manipulating (“Help me that this does not happen” or “I want it to be as I want”).
Contemplation is about understanding a certain event in your life by considering it by multiple perspectives and learning from it. This is possible through more insight and letting go so that a universal force can take over. A force of love that acts in your interest and of the whole.
Be in the here and now
In fact, it all comes down to being aware of the here and now, to be mindful. Be aware of yourself and your environment in everything you do and where where you are. Admire what you encounter and be more in awe. Be aware of your body, of your feelings and of your thoughts. Just feel your body. Be aware of your cold little toe or that warm thought when you think about a loved one or the pride when you think about completing a successful project.
A lot of people come into the here and now while exercising, when in nature, when they relax, do something they like, when they make music, draw or paint. Often the most beautiful ideas arise for work or at home. And then you’re not on your phone or behind a computer screen of course.
It is a very good plan every now and then to go away and have a little relaxation…When you come back to the work your judgement will be surer, since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose the power of judgement.
-Leonardo da Vinci, A Treatise on Painting
And then, what is next?
You have reflected, read, written, communicated, contemplated and you are in the here and now. Are you living a fuller & richer life now? I am convinced that this will be the case.
What will bring even more fulfillment into your life is to daily expect full and special experiences or events. Then you will take action and make conscious choices in your work and your life.
This is easier when you live a fuller life and if you do not have to take a quick decision in this hasty world.
How do you make the right decision? What action do you have to perform? I ask myself: “Is it in line with the good?”. I often know what to do and what I should not do, because I feel it clearly in my body. By being aware of myself and my surroundings, I experience more depth, tranquility, I can make better choices and experience more joy in my life.
How do you experience life more fully? Let me know in the comment field below. I and the other readers of this article are looking forward to reading from you!
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