La Dolce Vita – Because You Deserve It

‘La Dolce Vita’ means ‘The Sweet Life” in Italian. You’ve probably heard the term before. So why the sweet life? Why want it, why aim for it, why learn to create it a bit each and every day? Aside from the fact that it just feels good, being happy and content improves our health, gives us inspiration to continue our self-care, and betters our interactions with the world.

Being healthy allows us to participate in the fun things life has to offer. If we’re not motivated toward our own well being, our experiences become increasingly less pleasurable. Ultimately we all want to enjoy ourselves and we want others to do the same… but within reason, of course. And so there’s the balance. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle from day to day can become a rather serious endeavor at times, and yet this is tempered by simply letting ourselves enjoy the finer - as well as simpler - things in life.

Living life to the fullest without doing harm to others is consciously and compassionately-inspired action that brings about more of the good stuff for all. While not every decision we make has to be universally directed, feeling a connection to others is an imperative component to our well being. Enjoying what we do and sharing the rewards that we reap with other healthy-minded, creative individuals allows us to enjoy both the emotional and tangible things in life, such as food, wine, music, art, nature, good company, etc.

If we let ourselves lose sight of the little things that contribute to our everyday happiness because of excessive worry, fear or doubt, health problems, traumatic experiences, relationship or career challenges, etc., we won’t be very motivated to improve our lives. If on the other hand we realize that we all have things to work on throughout our lives – and resources at our disposal in which to do so – we can get down to the business of tending to our well being. Then, letting ourselves experience the rewards of our efforts a little each day, creating and enjoying a taste of the sweet life, it becomes that much easier to envision and welcome in.

This balanced place, or the middle way, where responsibility becomes empowerment and feeling good becomes our ultimate reward, feels like coming home to a place we’ve always belonged. It’s the relief of finally ‘getting it’, and the realization that relaxation is both a reaction of and precursor to peace of mind. In both literal and figurative terms, walking the path of the middle way is a sweet reward for all of the senses.

What we’re creating at Middle Way Health is a place to connect with others, do dream work and healing work, express ourselves, enlighten our minds and enliven our spirits. We are creating a place where it all comes together – our well being and the betterment of our lives; a place where we can share challenges and dreams with others, and together watch the fruits of our labors ripen.

Ignorance, Oblivion and Living in Extremes

We’re all oblivious to something in our lives at any given time. Usually in hindsight – if we bother to look back – we can see it. But how do we do it in the present moment? Are we not capable of seeing it, is it some sort of denial, or are we just not versed in how to see it? How do we start to see what we’re currently not seeing?

Practically speaking, when we focus on something in front of us, we can’t see what’s behind us. We weren’t born with eyes in the back of our heads for a reason, right? However, we do sometimes need to know what’s going on behind us, and we can utilize our senses in order to do so, whether we turn around and literally look or just hone in with general awareness.

But in other situations, we have a feeling we’re missing something; we just don’t know what or where that something is. So how do we know what the right questions are to ask and/or where to look for the answers? Should we stay put and wait for them to come to us or should we go out looking for them?

Often, just talking with someone else is enough to widen our perspective and see something we hadn’t before. But sometimes the problem is that we don’t want to see the other side because we’re hyper-focused on one extreme. For instance, we may choose to not see someone else’s side of things because we’re too wrapped up in our own suffering. We might also be ignoring the big picture because we’ve created a habit of vacillating between two extremes. For example, we might not see that a relationship is unfulfilling because we’ve become too accustomed to swinging directly from misery to bliss, and vice versa.

The problem is that in preferring one specific feeling or bouncing between two extreme ones, we’re ignoring the balancing of our human processes and the work it takes to keep finding healthy middle ground. It takes constant awareness and energy to be flexible in this way, and many of us aren’t accustomed to living like this. But by shedding light on our unconscious patterns, we can free up the trapped energies and utilize them to create more efficient and pleasant ways of living.

Watch for part II - where we elaborate further on 'What We're Missing' - to come~