Life: Are You Living in Pain or Pleasure?

Sunset - a gift to our senses * Photo via Flickr by NeilsPhotography

After an intense post yesterday, today I thought I'd share something much happier! Yesterday, I Skyped with Michelle from Peaks of Possibility. She is a certified Passion Test facilitator, which I am going to become in a few months.

If you haven't read The Passion Test, you should; it is an amazing book, but now that I've actually run through the test with a facilitator it has become an exponentially more powerful experience for me. I can hardly express the absolute joy that I've been filled with since we ended the call. It cements inside of me the absolute truth that our feelings are the compass for our lives.

When you feel, in your heart, that something is right, then you are clearly headed in the right direction. When you feel, in your heart and often in your body, that something just isn't right, you are right! It's time to step from that path. We are on this earth not to experience pain, anger or frustration. We are meant to LIVE a life of joy and purpose. Why would there be any other reason? Why look further than that?

Why would God, or whomever or whatever you ascribe as your guiding force, give us the amazing gifts of our senses if not to fill them pleasurably? Not narcissistic or hedonistic pleasure, but the pure pleasure that comes from the warmth of the sun on our skin, the smell of lilies in bloom, the taste of a fine piece of chocolate, the sight of a glorious sunset and the sound of a beautiful song taking flight?

He (or she!) wouldn't. Life is a gift meant to be filled with joy. I have discovered that is indeed one of my top passions in life. Want to know them all?

As of yesterday (passions are not static, but ever changing, so I'll do the test again in a few months),

When my life is ideal, I am:

1. Abundant, alive and free, on all levels
2. Completely fulfilled by living my purpose: helping others to live a joyful, passionate and fulfilling life
3. Confidently experiencing life
4. Enjoying an open-minded, expanded circle of friends
5. Joyfully interacting with others on a daily basis

How about you?