7 Severn

“Leave those vain moralists, my friend, and return to the depth of your soul: that is where you will always rediscover the source of the sacred fire which so often inflamed us with love of the sublime virtues; that is where you will see the eternal image of true beauty, the contemplation of which inspires us with a holy enthusiasm.”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1712-78
French Philosopher and Novelist.
Sourced: The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, Revised Edition.

As we are in the closing weeks of our joyous discussions, the enthusiasm remains for us to continue with our weekly posts, and our excitement peaks on notification of receiving a new like or follower.

Are you filled with zeal about something in life?
What are you fired up and excited about?
Where does your enthusiasm lay?

The Britannica Dictionary states: –

Enthusiastic:
Feeling or showing strong excitement about something. Filled with or marked by enthusiasm.

Excited:
Very enthusiastic and eager about something.

Zealous:
Feeling or showing strong and energetic support for a person, cause, etc. Filled with zeal.

The following exercise may offer some guidance, should you require it:

Acting With Intention

Setting Intention prior to beginning tasks or projects, can guide actions into alignment with your values.

Before you begin, ask yourself what it is that you wish to embody or cultivate. This could be an intention on meditation, meetings, family dinner, or conversing with someone.
Intention may include the practice of: self-compassion, deep listening, gratitude, cultivating supportive relationships.

When setting intention (s), clarify what is needed in that moment and carry this with you as you proceed. Check in every now and then to re-align if you forget.

At the day’s end, reflect on your intentions and congratulate yourself for any times – few or brief – that you embodied them.

You may even wish to set a more general intention for your day as a whole.

Setting an intention for your day is common practice in many cultures.
Be careful not to confuse intentions with goals. Goals occur in the future, whilst intentions can be embodied in the moment.

In carrying out the above exercise, it may be worthwhile asking yourself the following questions – which may serve to increase your engagement:

1. In what ways did you engage?
2. In what ways did your engagement bring meaning to your time?
3. What actions will you take to further your enthusiasm?

Moving forward, the material within our posts may be expanded on in other areas and we look forward to that taking shape in due course.

Thank you for reading.

Next Week. We’re discussing: Elation – Jubilation – Euphoric.