Enthusiasm for Life

Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” is a great line from Emerson. If there’s no enthusiasm in what you do, it won’t be remarkable and certainly won’t connect with people on an emotional basis. But, if you put that magic energy into all of your work, you can create something that touches people on a deeper level. How can you bring MORE enthusiasm into your work? What do you have to think or believe about your work to be totally excited about it? Answer it now.

(Author: Mars Dorian)

I have an immense enthusiasm for life. I want to have as much fun as I can doing what I do. As a social worker I laugh and joke with my patients much of the time. Sure there is a need to be serious but many of us struggle to see where and how we can have fun in our lives. This does nothing for us but lead to depression.

We live in a troubled time. Gas and food are steadily increasing in cost while our paychecks are not. Many of us remain inexorably tied to material possessions and the superficial happiness which we derive from gathering things. The relentless pursuit of happiness through more stuff. I find it sad many of never realize at all happiness is built on quality relationships with other. This past weekend I photographed a wedding. It was the couple’s second wedding. They and struggled through unhappy marriages. When I spoke with the bride, he told me, “We each finally realized how important it is to laugh at anything. We take things seriously when we need to but after 50-years on Earth I realized there isn’t too much that needs to be taken seriously.”

I have been called “aloof”, “not caring” and “weird.” None of these words bother me as they accurately define me. I need to have fun doing what I’m doing. My patients like meeting with me and many of them continue to return because they “like the way I feel when I leave your office.” I work hard everyday to make sure I am having fun everyday. I call it work because there are those days when I am just not feeling the energy. One might even say “I lost my mojo.” I experienced this a week ago with my running. It wasn’t fun. It had become a chore I had run the same course day in and day out for weeks. During one run I just stopped just like Forrest Gump. I stood on the side of the road for a minute, collected my thoughts and started out again. I simply needed a couple of days off and a couple of new routes.

Father’s Day I ran the 5-miles to my parent’s home. It was clear in the first ½ mile I had once again found the fun in my running. The sun was shining. There was a slight breeze. I made a conscious decision to run on the side of the street which provided the most shelter from the sun

I take those opportunities to remind myself when I am wearing a scowl to remove it from my face as it has no business being there.

I love serendipity…As I took a break from writing a response to this prompt, a patient called and asked if she could get in to see me. I had an opening and said “Yes.” Upon entering my office the pt discussed her “fear” about what others around her thought and said about her attitude toward upcoming radiation treatment for cancer. The pt said, “I don’t want to be afraid. I love to have fun so why can’t I have fun going through this treatment. I would think a positive attitude would help me recover.”

Namaste