Living a Life that Feels Good

Living a Life that Feels Good
Contributed by Neleisha Weerasinghe.

We are living in an era where everything seems to be in a rush – rushing to get to work, in a rush to buy groceries, in a hurry to grow up. There seems to be a major issue in slowing down or a fundamental fear that we will lose out (FOMO), so competing and rushing about is how a lot of people are living their lives. But is life really about going through your days in a blur, in a state of disconnect?

The recent COVID19 made the world stop and take stock. It does feel like a blessing in disguise and the future will depend on how we use this challenging time to better ourselves and really look at what we need to change. A proven method to live a life that is meaningful and feels good, not one that only looks good is to embrace life and live creatively.

Creative living

When it comes to creative living, we often think that it is limited to gifted artists or those that can afford to paint all day without a care in the world. Often reasons are given to put the creative side on hold, saying things like: “Who has the time?” “Who will look after the house?”, “Who will pay the bills?” but these things are part of living a life in entirety, a life that is creative and feels good.

To me, living abundantly is being present, taking things slow and enjoying every minute of whatever I am engaged in: painting, baking or simply doing my chores. Living creatively is not limited to the creatives, it is up to everyone to be free and child-like again, to let go of your worries at least for a little time and put your whole being in to some activity. It is said that when you engage in creative work, you are connected to something bigger than yourself and that can fuel you with fresh energy to get through the daily grind.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. famously said: Life is painting a picture, not doing a sum. This simple statement has something to offer each one of us by suggesting we put time and effort into something that is enjoyable and lifts the spirits so the sum total of life adds up to living creatively.

Tasks that are necessary are important, they keep the wheels turning but at the end of the day, life is the wheel and we are just the spokes in it.

Daily life

So how do we bring joy to our daily life?
Each of us has unique gifts which we need to identify. Another side to living creatively, is to engage and absorb life’s ebbs and flows that are all around us. So, while we engage in doing things, we must also take time to observe and be part of it.

• Sports: we may not all be athletes but we can enjoy a good game.
• Watching a play: this can be on TV or a live performance and if it truly engages you, spend more time with such encounters. (This does not include binge watching Netflix 😊)
• Social media breaks: this has been said so many times and still needs to be emphasized.
• Meet like minded people: maintain connections to the outside world by volunteering, joining talks, poetry readings, musical concerts or whatever you may enjoy.

These are a few ways you can connect with the life that is going on around you and carve out a life that feels good and looks good. Getting over that idea of ‘that’s not for me’ may be the starting point. Each and every one of us has the potential to live a life that is creative.