Follow your Bliss

“I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.” ~ Joseph Campbell
 
This week, I went on a hike with a friend in Honey Bee Canyon and we came upon the opening in the picture.  We went through the opening and on the other side was a beautiful canyon.  We could have been afraid and not gone through, but the bliss we found on the other side was our favorite part of the hike.  Joseph Campbell’s philosophy to “follow your bliss” is one of my favorite life lessons.  We weren’t frightened of the unknown and when we went through the door, we were well rewarded with nature in all its glory. I follow this philosophy when I paint, hike, ski, meditate, practice yoga and pretty much do anything.  Someone asked me the other day, “are you always like this or just on a caffeine buzz?” and I realized that I live from a state of bliss.
 
When you follow your bliss, the doors will open.  They may not be the doors you were expecting to open; sometimes they will be more magnificent and exciting than the ones you were planning to go through.  You can live your life being afraid and anxious or you can be open to the uncertainty and ambiguity of life and live it to its fullest.  I choose to explore all of the possibilities that life has to offer and express gratitude.
 
Do you follow your bliss?
 
Can you share a time when you followed your bliss and doors opened for you that you weren't expecting?

---