This expression always makes me chuckle—since it’s a line from Chevy Chase’s National Lampoon’s Vacation – a movie favorite of mine.
And, it begs to be asked . . . what do you do for fun? If you asked me that question 10 years ago, there was NO fun in my life. None. I sat in my house—barricaded by my fears of lack and scarcity and I waited for more “bad” things to happen to me. I slept until 10 am on the weekends, got up ate breakfast, and went back to napping on the couch for the remainder of the day. Television, food and feeling sorry for my current life state were my go-to activities. I don’t remember laughing much — my life was like a soundless, black and white movie – I lacked imagination, vibrancy and joy. And what I didn’t realize until much later, was that my thoughts were what were keeping me imprisoned – nothing else (more on that to come in a future blog). It was a vicious cycle of thinking I was hopeless, feeling that anguish and living that script out— daily.
I was walking through a neighborhood yesterday and saw this sign. It screamed to me “NO FUN HERE”! I felt a pang of deja vu — this could have been my life’s message board during this time in my life. And NO DOGS? I can’t even imagine a life without furry friends.
Fast forward these next 10 years and my life is littered with fun. Fun is a priority. I take walks in nature, I plan outings with my friends, I travel to new places — fun reminds me that we are here on the planet to enjoy & play. It helps me stay connected to the bigger energy source of Love. It’s connected to my new love of adventures that I shared earlier this week.
In Martha Beck’s The Joy Diet, she recommends a Treats list. I’ve nicknamed mine My Fun List. And this list is not just for what most of us would classify as a special occasion treat (like a spontaneous vacation to the beach)—encouraged are all the little things that we can do each day that bring a smile to that warm gushy place we have inside of us.
On my list, I have things such as coloring, lying in a hammock, baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
If you haven’t thought about fun in awhile, consider what would be on your list and please share it with me in the comments section below. A small addition in our lives seems so much more do-able to me than taking something away.
Try adding one small thing for a week and see what happens . . .