The Power of Celebration

I’m a big advocate for celebrating – especially the little things.
In my family we always celebrated birthdays, Christmas, Easter – the “good” things.
Years ago, I read a book by Melody Beattie called “Make Miracles in 40 days: Turning What You Have Into What You Want”, which introduced me to be idea of being grateful and celebrating everything – the good, the bad and the ugly.

It makes sense when you think about the energy that surrounds a celebration. It’s light, bright, joyful, exciting. What if we brought that energy to every experience we have?
What if we embraced every life experience, even the painful ones, with an attitude of celebration? Embracing them with an attitude of acceptance, openness and yes, even celebration.
I realize this is a very different way of being than most of us are accustomed to (it certainly was for me at first) however, if you want things to be different you have to be willing to be and think differently. If you want to have a life of celebration, you have to be willing to find a way celebrate what is happening in your life – right now!

This new way of thinking created a huge shift for me and is one of the principles I teach my clients today. It requires a shift in attitude and perspective. It takes a willingness to trust that if something is happening, there is a good and wise purpose for it, which always opens an opportunity to relax into what’s happening instead of fighting (resisting) it, because when we think something is bad or negative, we naturally tend to resist it.

Let’s examine the energy around resistance for a minute. It’s heavy, brooding, pouty, dragging.
It holds us back, slows us down. Even after years of practicing, there are still times I find myself in resistance to something that is happening.
When I catch myself “resisting my resistance”, I’ve learned to move quickly into acceptance because even resistance is not necessarily a “bad” thing. For example, if we are moving too fast, slowing down might be exactly what we need. Resistance might be the thing that does that for you in that moment. It might be the thing that causes you to pause and reflect on a decision you made from a place of obligation instead of desire and delight.

So what if we learned to celebrate even our resistance?

This approach allows for us to exist in a place of acceptance of what is – or PEACE.
Simple isn’t it? And profound.
The older I get, the more I realize that I just need to let go and trust – myself, life, the universe.
As I practice this and become more skilled in doing it, it gets easier. My life feels easier, lighter, brighter. More joyful and exciting. It becomes one big celebration!

Next time you find yourself resisting what’s happening in your life try relaxing into it and ask “what’s right about this that I may not be seeing?”. “What if there is something really amazing about all of this?”.
This is really difficult in the middle of a life altering challenge like the tragic and sudden loss of a loved one, or losing your job or home.
It’s important to create the habit of thinking this way by practicing with the little challenges that come each day. As you build the skill, it will become more natural to approach all of your life experiences from this new perspective and your life will be transformed.

Here’s a simple tool to get you started:
Keep a gratitude and celebration journal
Here’s how it works:
Each day write 3-5 things you are grateful for and that you are choosing to celebrate (especially the things you might previously not have celebrated).
Keep it with you and jot things down as they happen (you may forget at first because you’re not yet in the habit of celebrating the little things)
Write a “get it done” list and cross off the items as you accomplish them. Practice celebrating every little thing you accomplish!