LOVE THE LIFE YOU LIVE

I recently found a bracelet on the ground. There was a little message on the silver disc, 'Love the Life you Live.' It gave me pause; I was convinced the universe was speaking directly to me.

A lot of us mistakenly believe (and wait for) something has to change before we can be happy. But in order to live the life you love, you have to love the life you live. Happiness doesn't have to be put on hold until you finally get that dream job, win the lottery, meet the love of your life, or even lose those extra 10 pounds. Be happy now, not later. If necessary, fake it, soon you won't have to. Here's how you begin:

1. Be present. Look around and simply observe life. Appreciate each moment as it unfolds; grasp and learn to appreciate what's here, right now, and not what was or will be. It is only by being present that you can truly gain perspective, and this will make the difference in how you view your place in the world.
2. Practice gratitude. Gratitude makes what you have into enough. Everything in life ebbs and flows but true wealth comes from the security of knowing we have our health, our family, and our friends.
3. Pursue balance. Self-creation is a subtle balance between restraint and abandonment. We must first master discipline before we can fling our souls out into the world.
4. Nurture friendships. Some people are simply meant to pass briefly through our lives while others have the potential to be life-long friends. Surround yourself with positive people who inspire you to create, appreciate, or strive to be a better person.
5. Simplify. Pare down, de-clutter, and learn to love the basics. Appreciate the simplicities of life that cost us nothing. Bringing your house in order, taking care of business, crossing off items on your 'to do' list, these are the stuff dreams are made of.
6. Take risks. Growth, progress, evolution - they all involve risks. Life is not for the feint-hearted. Nor should it be taken for granted, for we never know what's around the corner.
7. Let go of limitations, embrace possibilities. Most of us strive to live a life less ordinary, but to do so we must toss aside the limitations we place upon ourselves.
8. Dig for your authentic self. Each of us has the soul of an onion, and as we peel away the layers, we in turn peel away the labels that conceal our authentic selves. We must dig deep into the heart of darkness, and discover in the unveiling that all the pieces of ourselves exists as one without distinction.
9. Find your sacred space. We all yearn for a haven that not only offers us a refuge from the minutiae of everyday life but buffers us from the distractions that steal our focus and cloud our creativity.
10. Learn to pause. When we're drowning in the minutiae of our days, and we scramble to stay afloat, it is the small unexpected moments of joy that rescue us from ourselves. A pause, the space between, the beat between breaths - these are the sublime contractions of our lives when possibility becomes promise and silence transforms us.