NOTES: Full Cup: Chapter 5-Remembering Lightness

Book-Full Cup Thirsty Spirit
Author-Karen Horneffer-Ginter
ISBN-978-1401939939
Pages: 224
Chapters: 6

 

177	Lightness-a feeling of joy and pride
178	Seriousness-opposite of lightness [sort of]
179	Humor and lightness disappear as we mature
180	Life becomes more serious when serious things happen like illnesses or the loss of relationships, loved ones, or jobs.
181	As to-do lists increase and the balance between work and home gets more complicated, humor and fun depart
182	Find enchantment in life by making a difference in the world around us and offer a sense of meaning and fulfillment in our lives
183	Identify things that make you come alive
184	Identify things that deplete you, then avoid

PRACTICE:
”1. Where in your life could you use some humor and lightness: in your relationships, at work, in your ways of approaching self-care?
2. What are some ways of lightening up your life that would work for you?
3. What might be the benefits of such lightness for you—possibly feeling less stressed or finding a greater sense of acceptance or creativity or gratitude in life?
4. Are there stressful situations you can reframe, possibly imaging them to be part of the plot line in a comedy? (Of course, you don’t have to make clay figures.) Play with this mind-set during the week as life challenges you or seems utterly serious. See if this helps to shift your felt sense of busyness.
5. Consider doing the comparison exercised described. Create one side that depicts things that make you come alive and the other representing things that deplete you. Be honest with yourself about what shows up in both sections. Is there anything that surprises you?
6. How can you shift the timing of when or how you do certain activities to lessen the ways in which they exhaust you?
7. Are there ways you can enliven the potentially mundane tasks of everyday life, like waiting?
8. How might you spice up your life with some new adventuresome activities? What would be your version of getting a pet monkey?
9. Are there aspects of your life that have gotten too narrowly defined?
10. What brings you joy, fun, and amusement?
11. Are there new activities you’d like to try or activities you used to do that possibly you’d like to dust off and revisit? These may be hobbies that are purely for your entertainment or endeavors that might be both fun as well as of value to those around you.”