Follow Your Bliss

As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m no stranger to audiobooks. My earlier example was of a  New Year’s tradition I have. In my most recent listen, I dove into the Power of Myth.

I am on a quest to understand the depth of story and how it can impact our kids meaningfully. I started to think about this years ago after hearing a part of an interview with George Lucas. He explained that we used to sit around a campfire and listen to stories. That’s how we learned about who we were and how we worked, how we learned to be a culture, how to treat one another, and the pitfalls that those before us fell into, allowing us to learn from their folly. The stories were entertaining and often organized in the form of poetry. Rhyming stories are easier to remember, and pre-writing all stories were recited from memory. I believe the poetic format had the added benefit of retaining the original content and making it more difficult for a generation of storytellers to change or embellish parts. Many in the audience would have had favorite memorized passages, like a favorite part in a movie one watches periodically, thus adding a level of accountability.

            I became fascinated with this idea of a story having so much more depth than the majority of media that is surface and recycled, lacking any real meaning. Lucas mentioned that he studied Joseph Campbell to really understand this concept. Being drawn to these ideas, I checked out the series of Joseph Campbell interviews titled The Power of Myth from my library app (an excellent resource, by the way).

            I chose to listen to the recorded interview because that was the original intent of the format. The book came after, and there is a lot of subtext, tone, and pacing that denotes meaning not found in a transcript, which is all the book really is. After listening (repeatedly to many parts), I did check out the book from the library as well. When I did, it was one of those special times when the librarian checking me out commented on what a classic I had in my hand. Very validating when this happens.

            I checked out the book because I wanted to mark all the pages that mentioned the concept of following your bliss. This is a phrase I had heard before. Hearing it in the interview, I researched and confirmed that Joseph Campbell was the idea's origin. This phrase is mentioned only a handful of times, and I wanted to take a focused look. Books have an index, after all, and it was much easier to see these excerpts all at once in a paper book format than continually rewinding.

            The context I had always heard, “follow your bliss,” previously seemed to suggest getting a job doing one of the hobbies you really like or simply doing whatever you want all the time. I remember dismissing it, thinking, that’s not going to work for many people. For one, not everyone can perform their hobby at a level that would support their family. I felt for the person making ends meet doing a necessary job that wouldn’t make any elementary kids when I grow up list, and the only passion they found in work was a passion for feeding their family. From that context, following your bliss seemed a privileged luxury.

            I learned that was not the intended meaning at all. I am not sure that I have my head all the way around the full meaning, but if I were to summarize what I understand, I would say this:

There will be moments of joy in your day. They may be tiny and fleeting, but when they occur, put your attention there. Where attention goes, energy flows, as the saying goes. This made me consider how much attention and energy I give to things that are not my bliss. How much time do worries and fears that are not real and never going actually to occur get? I believe way too much.

            I think the mistaken understanding of this idea comes from giving credit to an activity for bliss. In other words, an activity creates happiness, don’t follow the activity. Follow the bliss. The feeling that can come suddenly and quite often unprovoked. Lean into that happiness. Nurture it and allow it to grow. At those times of spontaneous happiness, there is often times a little message that comes alongside the feeling. A message from within. A nudge in a direction. I believe following your bliss is learning to listen to that little nudge rather than the next item on a to-do list. That small voice within gets a little clearer when given attention. I know I have had times when my inner voice has become an insecure mumbler.

            Whatever activities my day may have in store for me, I can listen to that voice within. I can also take notice of the little things that make me even a little happy and give them proper attention. This is great to do with people throughout my day as well. If I notice someone is wearing something cool, I can point it out. If someone does something helpful, I can thank them genuinely. If someone's presence makes me happy, letting them know that. If I have a moment of inspiration or spontaneous happiness, I can pause and take notice, and listen for the little voice that may be pointing out a direction to follow.