Stoke Your Fire and Light it UP!

 I recently finished watching the second season of The Bear. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it... just be patient through the first few episodes, as it starts out a little slow. But WOW does it pick up!! What really drew me in was the character development and the actors' incredible ability to evoke such strong emotion from the viewers. 

As the show developed, something similar happened to a few of the characters that really turned on the water works for me. To give a little background without any spoilers, the show starts as one brother, Carmey, is taking over a restaurant from his brother Mikey after Mikey passed away. This restaurant, "The Beef" is a dive, but a staple in Chicago. While a popular place, the brother who passed away had left the joint in all but financial ruin. In addition, the facility in shambles, and the staff - untrained and unmotivated. Carmey is a world class chef, and he comes in and shakes things up with his restaurant and hospitality expertise, which is predictably, met with some resistance from the staff. 

But Carmey perseveres and starts to show the resistant staff how much better things can be when systems and protocol are put in place. Even as things seem to be coming along, there are a few characters who continue to be somewhat problematic (it wouldn't be good TV without a little drama, right?). Even though these characters are causing issues, you still find yourself rooting for them, especially as you see Carmey and his sous chef continuing to pour into them, pushing them to be better. 

At different point of both seasons, you see different characters find their niche and their passion. This is where the real character development occurs. When the show starts, working at the restaurant is just a job for all of the original staff members. By the end of season 2, the staff members have discovered their passions. 

It's something you really have to see to understand, but these characters transform from people who are begrudgingly coming to work just to make ends meet into people who have confidence, passion, and radiate joy as they start to fall in love with their work and begin to absolutely thrive at what they do. And of course, when you bring a bunch of people together who take such pride in what they do and get so much joy from it, magical things happen. 

What I can't capture in writing is being able to witness this happen in real time. For me, watching each of these characters transform and literally light up from the inside as they find their passion brought me to tears (the happy kind!). There's something so moving about watching people experience pure joy. I don't think I've ever felt so genuinely happy for a tv character! 

I'm curious if other people get this emotionally invested, rooting for these characters and feeling so moved as they shine? For me I think it's because I know what it feels like to go from working just to work to having a career I'm passionate about and experience so much joy when I'm doing it. That's something I wish for everyone to experience, and I believe it's possible for all of us. 

Now I get it. I know we have to work, have to pay the bills, but it doesn't have to be doing something you dread -- a job that gives you the Sunday Scaries, a job that makes you dread Mondays. When you find your passion, that thing that brings you joy, if you can turn it into a career, you will thrive! It doesn't feel like work when you're living in joy. The key is following the feeling. 

Following that feeling is the key to manifesting abundance. Like attracts like. So when we're riding that feeling of joy and bliss, more of it will come -- more money, more time and space to do what we love. We begin to attract it like a magnet. I think that's one reason the transformation of those characters in The Bear is so, well... magnetic! They're so lit up, so alive, you can't help but WANT them to succeed and thrive! The same thing happens for us when we hit that stride. People cheer us on, lift us up, we attract the support, and that helps us build our momentum. 

This isn't just some woo woo, spiritual concept... it's practical too! Think about it: would you rather have a dish prepared by a chef who's inspired and loves her work? Or from a chef who is indifferent about her job and can't wait for her shift to be over? Would you rather work with a therapist who finds joy and fulfillment from helping people work through their trauma? Or with a therapist who's a bit cynical and lackluster about the work they do? Would you rather work with a financial advisor who gets a thrill from crunching numbers and watching the market? Or an FA who's just doing the job to get by? We want the end result, the product, the service from the person who finds JOY in what they do, right?! That's going to be the better product/service without question. When we experience the joy in what someone is creating, we come back for more and we tell people about it. This is exactly how manifestation works, how riding that feeling works, and how it creates more of it for the creator. 

Now I'm not saying go out and quit your job tomorrow (unless you have that kind of confidence, then by all means, good for you and go for it!!). But I am encouraging you to carve out more time for the things that bring you joy, the things in life that light you up and make you feel alive. Or perhaps to find some aspect of your work that you experience joy in or can get passionate about. I'm pretty sure Ritchie (in The Bear) wasn't initially passionate about managing a restaurant. He certainly wasn't at the beginning of the show. But he found aspects of the work he was passionate about, made it his own, and begin to thrive. 

If you aren't sure where your passion lie, then start exploring and see what you discover! Like attracts like, and I guarantee you if you consistently begin to spend more time engaging in things that you love, that you're passionate about, that light you up and bring you joy, your life will expand in ways you can't even imagine as you begin to attract more and more joy.