The Paradox of Living Fully and Freely

Our meet-up group www.meetup.com/Living-Fully-and-Freely-in-St-Leonards-on-Sea/ has attracted a flurry of members who are…

‘on a quest to set aside their fears and turn their 'shit to compost' for living their fullest lives. Full of creative expression, full of peace and relaxation, full of making a difference to our community, full of abundance- full of whatever we choose!’

However, few of those who have the desire to live fully and freely could actually put their hand on their heart and say they are living out the dream.  It’s trickier than it looks and there are some seeming contradictions…..

Living fully seems to suggest our life is packed full of the things we love and we are completely immersed in our passions.  Like a child in a sweet shop we try all the different varieties with wild abandon.  Yet living this way can soon turn into a whirl of activity in which we lose our sense of what’s really important to us.  We need to take time to step back, reflect, tune into how we are feeling and enjoy just being.  At our next meet-up on Thursday we will be exploring different types of meditation to see what might be helpful.  Everyone I know who has achieved a lifestyle of living fully and freely has some kind of regular meditation or relaxation practice.
Being free seems to suggest we only need to do the things we want to, the things that bring us joy.   But that freedom is pretty shallow if it is really driven by our need to avoid things, people, places, thoughts and feelings we find unpleasant.  For our lives to feel free and not be limited, we need to go face the things we resist and find ways of transforming them so they are no longer obstacles to our freedom.  To live fully and freely, we need to know ourselves well be aware of our passions and fear based patterns.  We then need to make conscious choices so we spend our time in line with our passions, creating the life we desire step by step.  

Although living fully and freely might seem like a selfish act of independence, our biggest opportunities for growth and joy are found in relationship.   Creating authentic relationships with those who encourage and support us is an important part of the meet-up group.  Learning how to create an intimate relationship where you can be true to yourself and your partner is another theme.  So often we think we need to make compromises in relationships and that robs us of our vitality, as well as an important opportunity for multiplying our full and free living.

For more information on the group Living Fully and Freely in St Leonards on Sea click or paste into your browser www.meetup.com/Living-Fully-and-Freely-in-St-Leonards-on-Sea/ or email Debbie@soulsanook.com

Debbie Reeds
Life Coach