Kefi/Spirit

"Spirit has fifty times the strength and staying-power of brawn and muscle."

~Mark Twain

I watched My Life in Ruins last night and it made me think of another element -- spirit. Without giving away too much about the plot of My Life in Ruins, the movie is about Georgia (played by Nia Vardalos), a Greek American woman and recently fired history professor who takes a job as a tour guide in Greece. She is very cerebral, and has none of the passion (kefi) so prized by the Greeks. She's a very unsuccessful tour guide because in addition to having no kefi she believes tourists should come to Greece to learn about the ancient culture, not shop, visit the beach, or eat ice cream. While a rival tour guide feeds his charges doughnuts, she feeds her tour members dry arcana about ancient Greece. Richard Dreyfuss, a bereft older widower who ends up in one of her tours, encourages Georgia to enhance her kefi, and (spoiler alert), she ends up passionate and happy and well-sexed. All in all, this was a sweet little movie that left me wanting to amp up my own kefi. (Note: another fun & inspiring movie along the same vein is Last Holiday starring Queen Latifah who incidently also plays a woman named Georgia who's sorely in need of some kefi).

Kefi is the Greek term for spirit, and has been described by various Greeks as meaning the spirit of joy, passion, enthusiasm, high spirits, or frenzy. The custom of smashing plates is considered an expression of kefi, when the soul and body are overwhelmed with an exuberance that must find an outlet. This vitality or mojo is what makes life worthwhile.

Your passion/spirit/kefi propels your dreams, so as you go about your day today focus on ways to bring more passion and vitality to everything you do. Are there things in your life that are killing your mojo that you could let go of? Are there things that you are passionate about that you're not doing, but could be doing? Orient your life to increase your vitality and find more ways to feed your soul. That is the life you were born to live.

If you're looking for some simple and practical ways to increase your vitality in body and soul you can check out this great article: http://www.wethechange.com/25-fun-ways-to-pamper-your-body-and-increase-vitality/