To Sing the Body Electric
Why do some individuals feel like forces of Nature? Can we all aspire to lives of depth and intensity? Are we living a full bodied, high-spirited, charged-up life?
“O Lago Malba”, Tarsila do Amaral
Walt Whitman writing odes to “the armies of those I love”, and fearlessly naming every body part that delights and enthralls him.
The Brazilian modernist artist Tarsila do Amaral painting blossoms like new-born stars.
Louie Armstrong crooning of “bright blessed days, dark sacred nights”.
Amelia Earheart hurling herself into the sky and across the great ocean, becoming an aviation pioneer?
What is it that buoyed these individuals, and so many more, to feel that much deeper, aim that much higher, breathe in so much more fearless air?
As different as they may seem in biography, personality, life circumstance, they were drawn together by a kind of depth or intensity that we could define as a true calling.
Beyond esthetic proclivities, anyone who hears Louie’s exultant notes, or contemplates Tarsila’s wild blossoms, receives a kind of energetic or spiritual transmission, as if suddenly woken from a state of slumber. Even without knowing much about the person behind the music, the poem, the artwork, they might feel a sudden craving, like the woman in “When Harry Met Sally” that candidly asked the waiter: “I’ll have what they’re having!”
So what are they having, exactly?
They’re having Life! Big, thirsty gulps of it.
Not just a tidy slice, picking and choosing: “Just strawberry, please, not a hint of lemon or lime”. That’s neither the style nor substance of those avid for existence.
Their lives weren’t easier than ours -Whitman was criticized for his sexual orientation and openly sensual images; Earhart for her bravado-, but when obstacles got in the way of their pursuits, they persevered with a kind of heartstrong passion.
Whatever their fate or outcomes, in their perseverence they created riches that far exceeded their own benefit, legacies that far transcended their lives.
In this sense, we could say they were a mirror for that foundational principle of Biomimicry (the discipline that applies Nature’s solutions to human problems), which states: “Life creates conditions conducive to life”.
Wherever these people went, Life followed.
We use one word to describe such people: we call them “vital”, as in “full of life”.
So what does vitality entail, exactly?
Martin Seligman, the father of Positive Psychology, describes it as “a dynamic aspect of wellbeing marked by a subjective experience of energy and aliveness”. In other words, feeling energetic and motivated, with the sense that we have what we need to achieve our goals (whether they be completing an essay or taking our dog for a walk).
Out of a list of 24 character strengths, Seligman and his team have found that vitality is one of the five which correlate the most with life satisfaction (the other four being love, hope, gratitude and curiosity).
Other researchers found that it’s also linked with greater longevity, inmmunity, increased creativity and productivity, improved overall health, and more meaningful bonds.
These are some of the traits vital people have been found to share:
They experience positive emotions daily.
They’re resilient, and good at dealing with adversity.
They’s risk takers.
They gravitate towards a sense of purpose.
They’re intrinsically motivated, and psychologically integrated.
Are curious about the people and events in their lives.
All of these qualities, put together, make for an exciting life. In fact, one of the best -non-official- definitions of vitality I can think of is “living life as an adventure”. Because, of course, it is!
So, is it only a select few who are meant to live in the land of the enlivened?
Or can aliveness be taught, learned, practised?
From the years I’ve spent exploring this topic in my workshops, my answer to the last question is a loud and clear YES!
So much so, that I’m writing a book about this very proposition.
Of course, this is not a summons to living life on a high wire, or in a state of perpetual euphoria. This wouldn’t be healthy, and honestly sounds exhausting.
Rather, I’m talking about tapping into a flow of energy and love that allows us to live each day with wonder, reverence and gratitude. Expanding our view of the world, and of ourselves, in such a way that we live in a state of possibility, being ready to ride the waves of joy, beauty or excitement wherever they turn up. And, when they don’t, to create our own!
For this purpose I’ve created a mandala of ten “vital archetypes” that connect us to life’s many green tendrils. Archetypes are the language of the soul, and so they’re fertile portals into the new/old story of our deep and abiding belonging to Life.
If you’d like to explore The Hero archetype (and the call to courage and determination), you can join me for a lively workshop this Saturday! (Or watch it later, at your own time).
If not, I leave you with three questions to spark thought, or even better, emotion:
What is one risk you could take this week that would make you feel enlivened?
What were you passionate about as a child? Is there any juice or enchantment still to be found in that interest or pastime, that you could repurpose for your life today? Is there anything of metaphorical value that you could mine?
What are you top five character strengths? (Find out here!) Are you using them as much and as often as you could? Science has found that using our strengths regularly and creatively is one of the most enlivening things we can do.
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love”, said Rumi, beckoning out of our caves of fear and comfort
Like him, I’m hoping you will say a resounding YES to your adventure, an open-hearted, full-throated YES to Life!