Living in Harmony
A harmony in music is when complementary notes are played together that creates full, dynamic and pleasing sounds. When dissonant notes are played together, it creates undesirable, irritating and non-pleasurable sounds.
Just like a harmony in music, life is all about staying in the right tones and vibrations with your relationship to yourself, what you do in the world, others and the Earth. Balance and awareness are the keys to creating and maintaining this harmony, this unification. Nature in its untouched form is the ultimate form of harmony.
Everything in the ecosystem works together like an orchestra towards a common goal, abundance and growth.
How can we cultivate a deep sense of harmony in our lives and maintain it?
Live in right relation with the Earth: Learn about what ways you can lower your carbon footprint in your daily life. Use less plastic, compost, walk or ride your bike, recycle and take shorter or fewer showers. Consider how your buying choices might adversely affect our ecosystem. Buy local when possible, shop at thrift stores instead of buying new and support local businesses instead of corporations. If you have space in your yard or balcony, grow your own food!
Maintain a healthy diet and active lifestyle: Make your health a priority by eating whole and organic, instead of processed foods and limiting your sugar intake. Find an exercise modality that puts you into a flow state like qi-gong, dance or running. It will be easier to live a healthy and active lifestyle if you enjoy the process. Cooking delicious foods and making your exercise practice fun and enlivening will help you to maintain harmony in this area of your life.
Do work that is purposeful and fulfilling: If you currently work a job that isn’t contributing to your happiness or the planet in some way, find ways to integrate holistic practices and activities into your workplace that offer deeper connections and consciousness. If you’re in a place in your life where you have the flexibility to change career paths, dream into how your passions can be used to solve a societal challenge that moves you. The vastness of the Internet gives us the opportunity to discover purposeful work opportunities.
Find a spiritual practice that resonates with you: Religion doesn’t have to limit the exploration into our interconnection with the world. A regular spiritual practice can help us feel balanced in our heart, mind and spirit. It can help us feel resilient, adaptable and kind. Whether it's yoga, meditation, nature connection or prayer, cultivating our connection to a universal spirit will help to keep us in harmony within ourselves and grow as people.
Take time for self-love practices: What do you do to relax, rejuvenate, rest and enjoy your own company? We must fill our own cups first before we can give back to the world. Take time each week to love yourself. Take yourself out on a date, take a long bath or treat yourself to a day with nature. Self-love practices help us to maintain a harmonic relationship with ourselves, the most important relationship in our life. When we give to ourselves as we give to the world, we can be more effective in our relationships with others and be strong and graceful in our daily life.
Spend a lot of time in nature: The Earth harmonizes our energy. When we spend time in nature, we take in the peace that she gives us. By observing the ecosystem and tuning into the natural rhythm of the Earth, we feel a sense of connection and stillness within us. This can be the deepest level of harmony felt because nature is the ultimate example of harmony. Give yourself permission to take in the beauty and healing that the earth has for us.
Express your passions and creativity: We all have passion inside of us. Sometimes we need to explore and search for what ignites that passion -- it’s an important aspect of our lives. Engaging with our passions helps us to feel fully alive and supports our creativity. When we dance, write poetry, sing and play, we allow our inner-child to come out. The innocence, curiosity and mystery of following our passions and creativity helps us to stay enthusiastic and in flow in our adult lives.
To fully be in harmony, it is a constant awareness of how these areas are in balance or out of balance. We should have compassion with ourselves through the process because harmony is not an achievement; it is a journey to be enjoyed. Cultivating a sense of harmony in our own lives will only support us to be the best version of ourselves and be an example for others.