What to Do When You Forget What Makes You Happy

I was watching Julie & Julia on Netflix tonight off and on between cooking scrambled eggs for dinner, nursing the baby, putting him to bed, and then finally getting to come back and finish it.

There’s a moment when both Julie and Julia share why they do what they do. Julie decides to write her blog because she loves having something to channel her ADD energy into, and that she feels will give her purpose again. Julia enrolls in her french cooking school because she LOVES waking up and just thinking about food and cooking.

I recently had a moment, going through a dark night of the soul, when I just wanted some guidance and an outside perspective. I opened Facebook and one of my friends Ruth was doing a live broadcast and I hopped right on. Ruth, see, is an Oracle and channels amazing messages in many different ways to viewers that submit their questions.

I’ve had Ruth answer questions for me before when I found myself in dire straits. So I kept copying and pasting my question in hope that she would see it. I figured I had a great chance because less than 20 people were watching at the moment, so I figured I had great odds.

Then as I’m trying to put the baby down to sleep, she calls my name and answers my question. I literally turned the volume up on my phone and delayed laying down the baby so as to not risk him crying and making the moment that much more difficult to hear her.

She answered my question, but rather interpreted it for me in an unexpected way. I suddenly burst into tears and realized, “holy shit!” that she was right. I was looked for an answer to when I’d find myself moving in a positive direction again and feel good about it.

But she surprised me when she said I wasn’t looking for a positive direction, I was looking for what made me happy again. I had forgotten the things that brought me joy. And it made so much freakin’ sense that I was flabbergasted, grateful it bursted out, and just blown away by all the synchronicities that I can’t even explain in text here.

Suffice it to say, when Julie & Julia both stuck with things they loved, it reminded me to start doing things again that I love, for myself, even by myself. Because I had changed so drastically in a few short years, I found myself in a place where what brought me happiness had changed too. So what to do to figure that out?

As Julie & Julia still plays on the TV now, the thought came to just get back to blogging basics. Forget all the complex polish and structured perfection. Just write and share. Maybe this will be just for me and I’ll come back to it and heal something again in 5-7 years. Maybe this will change someone’s life, like you, and remind you to do something again that brings you happiness.

What have you stopped doing that used to bring you happines?

What can you start doing that you know will spark some joy back into your smile?

Where are the places that naturally generate a calm giddiness in your heart?

How have you kept things in your life that always put a twinkle in your eye?

Not everything we do that brings us a little more happiness in our lives will create the success like it did for Julie & Julia. Some things we do will escalate into magnificent glories that also light up countless other lives we come across. Many things may seem to fall flat and have no impact whatsoever, at least that we’re not aware of.

Doesn’t matter the result.

What matters is the intention in the moment. Do you intend on wallowing, or pivoting back to happiness?

I want to keep talking about this, but it is almost 9:30 pm and I really don’t want to mess up tomorrow by staying up too late. Yep, 36 years old and 9:30 is bed time. Goodnight.