Enjoy life! Anyone can agree that if nothing else, we must learn to enjoy life. No matter what negative and challenging experiences we endure, in the end we must always find a way to enjoy life. But what does it really mean to enjoy life? Is it important to give something so simply said much thought? It sounds easy to do but could we possibly be living by a deceitful meaning of it all? Let’s explore.
According to dictionary.com, the meaning of enjoy is to experience with joy; take pleasure in; to have and use with satisfaction; have the benefit of; to find or experience pleasure for (oneself). Sounds pretty simple, especially if you know the true meaning of joy and pleasure, satisfaction and benefit. But again, is it really important to delve into the true meaning of it all or are we safe to just keep it simple and find the quickest and easiest ways to experience joy? Live life without too much thought. Take it and run with it. Enjoy life.
Any cliché you choose to live by will be embraced by the mindset you find yourself living within. The thoughts that formulate the meaning of ‘enjoy’ for you will determine a lot of the life experiences you choose to be a part of as a way of enjoying life. If you’ve learned to tie the word enjoy to meaningless fun or a carefree way of life, you may find that most of your life experiences carry the same weight, meaningless and carefree. If you’ve adapted to enjoyment as a way of engaging in that which in some way enriches your life and provides opportunities for growth, your life experiences are likely to mirror the same if it is important to you to enjoy life.
What we don’t want to do in our efforts to enjoy life, is to deceive ourselves into believing that such a way of living is only about finding a way to escape. We don’t want to misinterpret the meaning of the notion, enjoy life, as an excuse to live a life without meaning or without taking advantage of the opportunities we have to make a difference in the world around us. Yes, it is important that we give significant thought to what it really means to enjoy life so that we don’t miss the greatest and most rewarding benefits of doing so. It is when we find pleasure in the works of our gifts, our purpose in life, our service to others, that the true meaning of ‘enjoy life’ will surface in our lives. We must be careful not to reduce the wealth involved in the enjoyment of life, filling our lives with too many meaningless adventures. Not only will they cause us to miss the real value of enjoying life but they also leave us empty with very little to pass on. Enjoy life! However, instead of viewing such as a single-handed act that only involves getting away from that which matters most, find your greatest enjoyment of life in the times when you’re somehow making a difference for others. That will always be where true enjoyment of life lies.
Tawana R Powell
Author of “Life Fulfilled: The Ultimate Goal”
(Amazon.com)
Twitter: @tawana_powell
