We had friends over for lunch the other day, and one of the guests asked what our family was going to do over the Holidays. I replied, as I am sure many would, by stating that I was looking forward to time with friends and family during the Holidays, some projects around the house and relaxing. I think it was a pretty standard answer that many shared. But then my friend replied with a great point – how are you going to rejuvenate during the holidays? Mic drop. We all had an Oprah “Aha” moment when she said that.
Relaxation and rejuvenation, although often said together, are two separate things and how was I going to rejuvenate during the holidays? And this leads to an even more fundamental question – what rejuvenates me?
And that caused us all to think about a number of different things during lunch. What relaxes you? Can you fully relax during the holidays? NO!!! Do we build time into our schedule for rejuvenation? What rejuvenates you
The traditional definition of Rejuvenation is:
- the action or process of giving new energy or vigor to something.”plans for the rejuvenation of the area”
- the restoration of a youthful appearance to something.”experts in the art of facial rejuvenation”
- the action of restoring a river or stream to a condition characteristic of a younger landscape.”they were instrumental in the rejuvenation of the river”
For me, when I think of rejuvenation, I think of something that fills my spiritual cup and gives me the ability to take on the next set of stresses and challenges. It revitalizes me.
Great – I know what it is, but what are my seeds of rejuvenation? And this really stumped me. What causes me to feel like I am replenished?
One of our friends instantly responded that wood working is what rejuvenates him. He likes to go into his work space and transform a piece of wood into something beautiful and useful. And I can understand how that would rejuvenate you. It is creative, it is transformative and it is primal, in the sense that it is just you and your skills.
It has been weighing on my mind since our lunch – what rejuvenates me? And so I spent a lot of time thinking about it. And I came to the following conclusions:
- I love having an amazing discussion and creating a great sense of dialogue. When these moments happen, I truly do feel fulfilled because I feel that as a result of the discussion, I have learned something, and in part, I have also educated and that sharing of ideas is very fulfilling to me. However, I am at the point in my life where life is busy and those moments of sitting down with friends and family and having intellectually fulfilling discussions are not as common as they used to be. And also, it is like catching fireflies in a jar. You cannot manufacture those moments. When they occur, you just have to enjoy them fully.
- I am fulfilled when I spend time with my family doing a shared event. When we go on walks, tobogganing or sit together and play games or cards. Watching a movie with snacks. Their presence and the joint feeling of contentment during these shared experiences really gives me joy and I am very protective of these times. But again, these moments do not happen as frequently as I would like, because of how busy life is, but knowing how fulfilling they are to me and my well being will make me push for them to happen more frequently.
- Music really does rejuvenate me. Finding a new song, or creating music either by playing or singing it, really does cause my soul to feel whole. When my dad would listen to music that he loved, you could see how it transported him and you could see that he was having an out of body experience enjoying the beauty of that moment. Just writing about it gives me chills. And I have to say that there are certain songs or pieces of music, that just cause such emotion, and are truly moving.
Runners up were working with someone on a shared goal either at work or in life – that partnership provides me with a lot of of contentment. Another runner up was dancing. It think that dancing is self explanatory in its rejuvenation qualities.
And rejuvenation for me is feeling moved. Feeling that immense contentment. That enjoyment. That feeling of being full. But it clearly is an ongoing pursuit, because I am sure that at each decade in my life, different things brought me fulfillment and at this stage in my life, this is what works for me now. But, now that is on my radar, I will be more aware when I am having a moment that fulfills me to note it down for the future, when I am seeking a moment of rejuvenation.
But that’s just one Diva’s view.
#rejuvenation #fulfillment
Diva's View 