To Be Delighted Again

My heart is calling me to take a break from all the noise –
all the distractions of modern life that leave a body, brain,
nervous system, and soul quite weary.

I need to be outside and breathe the mountain air.
I need to go on an adventure that replenishes my spirit
and nourishes my body.

I need to be in stillness –
under a tree, watching the way sunlight glistens off the field,
the way the clouds move slowly across the blue sky.

I need simple.
I need to hear the whisper of my own breath,
the wind, my ancestors, and my heart.

My soul needs to be delighted again.

Lisa McCrohan © 2021

Last weekend, my family and I packed up our car and headed down to Shenandoah National Park. We rented a cabin with some of our best buddies from graduate school and their children.  We hiked, we explored, we ate delicious food (thanks to my husband!), we sat in rocking chairs on the front porch as we drank our coffee in the morning, and we had a bonfire in the evening to make s’mores.  It was just what my body, mind, and soul needed.

One morning as I was sitting on the front porch watching the sun come up while I ate my breakfast, I thought about how something as simple as “getting away” or “changing our environment” for even just a few days can make a big (and much needed) shift for our bodies, minds, and souls.  See, I am a homebody.  I love being at home.  My home is my sanctuary.  I love my home to be cozy, nourishing, and welcoming.  But if I spend too much time here without “changing things up” a bit, without even realizing it, I get into a rut of thinking, behaving, and feeling.  I need to change my environment every so often in order to give my body, mind, and soul a new perspective, an opportunity to be refreshed and renewed.

Changing our environment allows for a renewed sense of delight.  And boy, do we all need to be delighted again.

We have all been through so much.  Though the particulars may look different for each of us, we all have been holding a lot.  That inner sense of delight can get depleted over time.  It’s like a slow leak in a tire.  We may not realize that our sense of delight is “leaking” until we feel FLAT.

Delight is our birthright. It’s that sacred hum of aliveness, vitality and connection running through us. And if it’s been a long time since you felt that way on a regular basis, you aren’t alone!

Sitting on the porch that morning, I could feel the need to “be delighted again” — not just little moments here and there in my life, but on a regular basis. I  often talk to clients about not waiting until we feel depleted — or “flat” — before getting resourced.  That’s why I’m taking much of July off this summer.  I am in a good space to take a break before my level of delight is “flat.”  I am taking time off to be at home with my own self, to spend time with just my own nervous system and those closest to me, and to do some discerning about where I am in life and what adjustments I want to make for the next season of my life.  This is essential for my well-being.

If you feel like you need to “be delighted again,” I encourage you to tune into my latest episode on Delightful (my new podcast!): To Be Delighted Again.  Your body, mind, and soul deserve to flourish, to be in sync with each other, and to have their default be delight.

I know that may feel far off or foreign to you. So I’ll keep reminding us that DELIGHT IS OUR BIRTHRIGHT!  To connect to that sacred hum of aliveness within us, to feel it flowing smoothly and freely in us – that’s possible.  It doesn’t mean everything is all hunky dory and you don’t get upset or triggered.  It means that shit happens, you’ll have “moods,” but there is a resiliency – a buoyancy in you — much like a tire that is filled juuuust right 99% of the time! (I don’t think I’ve ever compared our well-being delight to a tire!  That’s a first!  But I hope you get the idea!) We don’t run on a flat tire for very long — much less four flat tires!  We like to make sure our tires are filled to the right amount every time we drive.  It’s safer that way.

Well, it’s the same with our well-being and delight. Don’t run on a “flat” sense of well-being or delight  Run on the “just right” sense of well-being and delight as you drive, coast, cruse, and travel in this next season of your life.

I’ll be off in July, but if you have been interested in working with me in Integrative Coaching, check it out. We can start up in August and get you set up to be delighted again as you start into the fall.