The Joy Maker Series: Human Beings

Hello again and welcome back to The Joy Maker!

In recent times it appears to me that a lot of the population is fed up with the constant push to produce.

A vast array of the populace, show every sign of simply wanting to feel valued for who they are. To be cherished for the person they are at the core of their being, as opposed to the earning potential they represent.

In many different settings people have confided in me that they just want to be loved, and more interestingly, they want time to reflect upon who they are and how they exist on the planet, as opposed to what they can do, produce, accumulate, and achieve.

Over the past few months, I have been sharing the Joy Maker Experience with a range of audiences in a variety of settings. Dance teachers, high school students, past acquaintances, colleagues, and new friends. And I have been struck by a commonality expressed by many people involved in these workshops, conversations, Q and A’s, and discussions. It seems that despite successes, accomplishments, work ethic, drive, high calibre jobs and achievements, many people simply want to be seen, heard, and acknowledged as human beings.

In short, you will find a list below of the common themes people are finding a little confronting in the world we have constructed over the past decade or so:

* Cultivating clients for endless financial advantage.

* Mining associates for contacts and personal gain.

* Learning how to grow, grow, grow businesses for increased reach.

* Leveraging merchandise and marketing for exponential wealth growth.

* Honing social media skills to create appropriate images that reflect success.

* Receiving glowing academic results to prove intelligence and worth.

* Winning trophies to display sporting prowess.

* Posting constant images of life to show happiness and contentment.

* Getting a prized position in a company to establish cleverness.

* Demonstrating popularity through finely tunes looks and likes.

At a glance, this list may read as a “to do list” on your laptop. And sure – we all want to achieve goals in life and feel purposeful and passionate. But have we tipped our hats too far in a non-helpful direction, at the very things that are inhibiting the joy we seek?

Are we focusing on the wrong things?

If the feedback from attendees at my Joy Maker presentations is anything to go by, the answer is yes! And perhaps it is prudent for us to now push back a little to re-establish the fulfilment we seek from our existences.

Could the answer be in looking at our “beingness” as opposed to our “doingness”?

Could the revelation appear when we collectively take time to measure the kindness, compassion, and support we exhibit to our fellow man as opposed to the constant calculation of economic gain attached to our actions?

Is it time to step back and take account of our hearts?

The very thing that makes us human after all.

Is our time here on Earth all about money, prestige, winning and achieving?

Or could there possibly be something more to creating a rewarding and meaningful existence?

It may sound like a simple thing, but I had not really thought about it in these terms until a teacher spoke to me a few weeks ago after an event. She approached me and said, “That was so wonderful. We don’t get to do enough of that sort of thing. It’s what we need. More of that. We are not just teachers you know. We are human beings too!”

Another lady confided, “That was not at all what I expected – but just what I needed. I had no idea I was holding onto so much stuff. I wish we had more time with this segment of the day.”

And another revealed, “We just don’t get time to stop and think about anything. We are just so busy all the time. It was so nice not to be talking about how to teach dance or make more money in your talk. I could just relax for once and think about me.”

As you can see, all these things point to the same desire.

A wish to be seen as something more than a worker bee.

Something more than the job description.

Something more than the position in one’s household.

And a craving for time to think about who that person is outside of the narrow definitions ascribed to us by societal pressures and expectations.

In an extension of this pondering, a high school student expressed to me after one of my three-hour sessions, and much discussion, that she didn’t feel her parent’s loved her. She had tears in her eyes as she told me how high achieving she was scholastically, and how she felt she personified her family’s values and cultural beliefs etc, but still felt like a failure. She confided in me that her parents had booked her into a series of counselling sessions because she was so miserable and sad all the time at home. Her parents seemed to think her problems were external from the family unit. Something that they needed a professional to fix. The situation was just so sorrowful as it was evident that her family was oblivious to the fact that this poor girl just wanted to feel valued and loved.

An acknowledgement of her efforts at school, a little praise for her respect for the cultural values she was born into [ which she loved ] and a loving hug was all that was needed.

Simple!

My heart was aching for her, and her parents, as they most likely had no idea their daughter felt this way. But why did this situation exist? Because this lovely girl wanted to be seen for who she was rather than what she could achieve. It was clear she felt that she was only valued for her achievements and adherence to her familial and cultural norms, as opposed to being valued for her spirit, her kindness, her loving nature, and her willingness to give everything her best efforts. She clearly felt she was measured by what she could achieve and produce, as opposed to being treasured for the content of her character and heart.

I have heard similar stories time and time again over the past few months. Enough times to give me pause for thought. And I have concluded that the tide is turning with regards to how we exist as human beings in this world. And maybe the key can be found in the very words used to describe us. These entities that inhabit the world.

Us!

We are referred to as Human Beings!

Not Human Doings!

So maybe if we deferred to this definition in reference to how we measure our contribution to our communities, we may find ourselves in a better spot emotionally. That is, if we collectively manifested a reverence for being, as our preferred judgement of worth, we may move to a state of self-acceptance, support, nurture, and appreciation that could benefit us all. And, if we took time out to actively pursue self-care and self-understanding, the resulting self-awareness and self-appreciation may just bring to our businesses and personal goals ancillary benefits that we are not expecting.

In short – happy people make happy workplaces, happy schools, happy businesses, and happy families. And wherever there is happiness, productivity and willingness are sure to follow. We just seem to have things back to front now and wonder why so many of us are feeling depleted, exhausted, frustrated, and run down.

It reminds me of the play “Stop The World, I Want To Get Off”!

Hordes of people are now awakening to the fact that they do not want to be on this merry -go round of work, work, work. And multitudes are asking if bigger is really better?

• Will having seven locations for my dance school with a million-dollar empire really make me any happier?
• What really lights me up?
• Why did I start teaching dance in the first place?
• What experiences in my dance school really make me glow with pride?

These are the questions teachers, parents and students are asking all over the place.

The quandaries being reconciled at The Joy Maker Experience, all centre around how participants wish to “be” in this world. How they want to show up for themselves, their friends, and families. And most importantly of all, the gratitude so many people feel for being given the time to sit and ponder just what that looks like to them.

The gift of time to relax, reflect and reinvigorate the humanness of being!

And that brings me back to the title of the article today.

Is it time for us all to remember first and foremost that we are Human Beings?

My answer is:

Yes, it is!

Unequivocally!

Audaciously!

Willingly!

So today, I invite you to stop, take a breath, and revel in everything that makes you – You!

Your thoughts, feelings, personality, creativity, unique expression, kindness, compassion, thoughtfulness. All the crucial aspects of you, that you bring to your communities every day.

What do you need to do to water those parts of yourself to keep them hydrated and healthy?

What do you need to let go of, to allow those wonderful human aspects of you to thrive and be celebrated?

Perhaps it is time to value your humanity and measure yourself by the joy you bring to world each and every day. To judge your efforts on your beingness – not your doingness!

So, go forth and be!

Be You!

Be Human!

Celebrate that!

#thejoymaker #thejoymakerexperience #discoveryourbliss #beingnotdoing #beinghuman

Discover Your Joy

Christine

NOTE: All Christine’s Joymaker columns are general in nature and written from the perspective of personal experience, research and study. They are offered here as advice and support only. Should you be experiencing serious mental health issues, financial concerns or medical issues of any kind we highly recommend you seek assistance from a trained professional.