"Life-affirming". This phrase keeps repeating in my mind. People, activities, experiences... there is quality of energy in everything, that can either dim your vitality or light it up, strong and bright. When things are in resonance with your soul, you can feel it. It is life-affirming, to spend time with someone who gets you, appreciates you. You feel that everything is possible, you feel creative, passionate, understood and supported. It is life-affirming, to think and say and do what is in line with the deepest values of your heart and soul and have that take root.There is a sense of resonance- when what one sees, does and experiences on the outside is a match to their innermost being. "I am alive, and this is the most wonderful, miraculous thing"... this is the essense of what it feels like to have a life-affirming friendship, job, experience, etc. Too often, we live with this belief that to feel this kind of ease or joy is a luxury, a privilege, something that we are not worthy or capable of because we have to toil and do the right thing, or that it's simply not possible to find that thing that we feel is missing in our lives.... But the truth is: the right thing in this life is to take loving care of it, of this life...to be happy with this gift of being alive and live in a way that honors that gift. It is not only okay to be fully, deeply, truly happy... it is our birthright. We deserve to feel joy in this life time. There are so many things that we cannot control in life. But we can control how we live...the things we let close to our hearts, the things we spend our time on, the people in our lives, the way we think, the choices we make. Take an inventory of the things in your life that make your soul sing... and notice the things that drain your vitality. You do not have to be miserable or live in a way that dims your spirit. You can be free.