Welcome to The Beautiful Life

The Beautiful Life is a blog about personal transformation. It is about living a more authentic, meaningful and simpler life regardless of one’s circumstances. Chefs say the sweetest meat is closest to the bone. I would go one step further and say this is just as true in life. For me, excavating my core self and learning to surrender that which is not helpful has brought me both healing and rejuvenation. It has also helped me build greater resilience to life’s challenges. Learning how to live the beautiful life is like Swedish death cleaning but for heart, mind, body and soul instead of for your house. And the results are… simply beautiful.

This blog is part organic exploration, part survival guide and part treasure chest. In it I will explore the revelations I find fascinating from ancient wisdom, spiritual traditions, philosophy and science. I will also curate stories of how other questing souls found their way to a beautiful life. This blog though is not just an expression of my own delight but also the sharing of my Beautiful Life process and my invitation for you to claim your own beautiful life.

My Story

I am a free-lance writer and recovering lawyer living on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. I am also a world-traveller and long-time student of philosophy, religions and science. My career of 20-plus-years as a trial lawyer ended prematurely in 2019 when my health gave out from stress and overwork. I was so physically broken that I could barely sit, stand or walk. I was beside myself with anxiety trying to figure out how I was going to survive emotionally and financially.

Bit by broken bit, day by painful day, I was forced to come to terms with my new reality. I was forced to examine the disconnect between my values and the lifestyle I had been living. It was humbling to accept the degree to which social conditioning dictated what I thought, felt or considered valuable in my life. When I finally gave myself permission to give those things up and accept what I genuinely needed at my core everything began to improve.

What is The Beautiful Life Process?

The process of The Beautiful Life is to excavate who we are at our core and in no small measure, learn to accept that. That acceptance is a form of the Stoic “amor fati”, learning to love and accept the truth of who we are. Coming to terms with that can potentially revolutionize our lives for the better. I wish I had understood earlier in life that accepting who I was didn’t mean settling for less or giving up my dreams. I now understand it’s actually the opposite. Once you make your peace with who you truly are and what you genuinely need, you uncover the connection to amazing power.

Knowing the truth is one thing, finding the courage to live that truth is another. We are bombarded every minute of every day with social conditioning, commercialism, activism and politicization. Social media, for all its bright, sparkly comforts, is arguably the most toxic invention our species has ever created. Most of its toxic effects are so insidious we have only glimpsed the effects below the surface. Freeing myself from those hypnotic influences and learning how to live authentically has required I develop joyful habits and positive routines as a matter of daily practice.

Those practices have involved finding myriad little ways of connecting to authenticity, Source, love of life and gratitude, either directly through activities or quietly in the background while I do other things. It’s a practice that infuses the very air around me with abundance, kindness and grace. The practice has become so deeply restorative and important to my enjoyment of life that worries over trust or courage have evaporated. I can no longer contemplate living any other way. I call it “Living in the Hallelujah” and I consider this living-connection lifestyle my highest achievement in life.

The Goal of The Beautiful Life

Where will Living in the Hallelujah and practising The Beautiful Life take me? Where will it take you? I’ve been on many adventures in life but so far this one is the sweetest one yet. There is still so much to learn; so much this path has yet to reveal. I am just getting started.

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”

Richard Bach

I invite you to discover your own adventure and to join me in claiming your own beautiful life. Trust in the process. Learn who you truly are. Find ways to practise positive connection to your core every day. Learn to listen, allow yourself to change and the next steps will unfold in the fullness of time.

You can try starting here: Find Your Way to the Beautiful Life

Namaste Beautiful Reader