As a Life Coach, I love coming up with creative ways for my clients to connect with a grand vision for their lives. This is something that the founders of the United States of America gathered to do for the people and future generations – design a grand vision for our nation. Without it, things would have just remained the same, despite unbearable events and feelings. And just like that, it is true for us individually. Without defining and connecting to a vision for a life we would love to experience, our lives just run on the default setting, where we remain in a reactive state and our wishes, never acted upon, just become a form of entertainment or even torment. Many of us have things that we want to do and haven’t yet done them. The trips we want to take, the relationships we want to build or attract, the work we have in our hearts to do but have talked ourselves out of until “someday.”  We’ve allowed our days on Planet Earth to run together to the point that another year has gone by, and nothing has really changed. We start with good intentions, but allow fear, worry and doubt to talk us out of our desires and dreams. We follow our conditioning and societal norms to fit in and get by. Deep down, many of us know there has to be more to life, much like our forefathers, and often receive signals from our soul via our Longing and Discontent that things must change.  What better time than now to listen and define our yearnings as well as what we can no longer tolerate than as the United States of America remember its Independence Day? Consider that most people spend more time working on what they want their vacation to look like than they do on considering what they’d love their lives to look like. That was indeed me up until a cancer diagnosis almost twenty years ago got my attention. Prior to cancer, I just thought “this is as good as it gets. Just do the best you can.” Imagine if instead of hammering out the Declaration of Independence, these men said “this is as good as it gets. We’ll just have to do the best we can?” This is my invitation to you not to wait for the rap upside the head like I did to get you thinking in terms of your happiness and well-being. Declare in detail what it is you claim to be true and wonderful for yourself. This is what I’m inviting my clients to do, in honor of Independence Day, and I will be joining them too. Please join us if this resonates with you!

Here’s what I suggest, but please make this special for you: Begin by finding a special sheet of paper, then select a favorite pen. You may want to write a draft before transferring your words to the final piece of paper. Find a quiet and clutter-free place that honors this activity. Feel free to light a candle, put out a beautiful photo or rocks and crystals – whatever inspires you and sets the tone. Once ready, close your eyes and scan over the landscape of your life. Take your time. Consider and bring to mind images that light you up as you live from your best and most authentic self… the work you’d love to be doing… the health you’d love to be experiencing… the relationships you’d love to be enjoying… the fun you’d love to be having… the balance and well-being in your life. What would these look like to you? Drop out of your head which has all the arguments as to why you can’t have this life and drop into your heart where your spirit resides and has been waiting for such a moment to communicate with you without interruption from your head. You can even create a preamble as our forefathers did for the Declaration of Independence. And when you feel like it’s complete, sign it, as big as John Hancock along with the date. Maybe even create a seal or a symbol that is meaningful to you. Keep this as a sacred document for your eyes only, unless you feel enough trust for another who reads it. In this state, your words have barely taken root, so be careful not to open them up for ridicule or criticism. Continue reading your declaration and remind yourself that, like creating a whole new country to live in, it requires connecting with the vision and taking action to serve the vision. And much like the birth of our nation, there will be conflicts involved, but mostly inner conflicts, centering around negative paradigms, fear and doubt. They actually appear for us to work on ourselves and say “I’m not listening to you anymore. All I get is the same old stuff. I’m ready for more and I deserve it!” (How’s that for paraphrasing the Declaration of Independence?!). All I can tell you is that it’s absolutely worth it to address these fear-based thoughts and impulses, and that most of these conflicts turn out to be paper dragons and certainly are experiences that build you to your best self.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.      –Preamble to the Declaration of Independence

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness – Not bad words to borrow from. To live one’s life fully (what does that look like to you?), to experience the liberty, to make choices that honor one’s soul and to wholeheartedly pursue one’s happiness which, believe it or not, often involves the delight in serving others in some way. Please reach out to me if I can help with this.