To be happy?

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance;

the wise grows it under his feet.

           

 ~James Openheim

Each time we allow ourselves to be overcome with paralyzingly strong negative emotions, we, ourselves, have invited the emotions to join us- we have created a seeemingly negative environment for ourselves. It is better to choose happiness.  To actively step back from a situation and find the peace in it helps to remind us that even the most seemingly negative setbacks can keep us well practiced in returning to a state of inner equilibrium.

 We are always left with the choice of whether we would rather give up our hold to anger, fear, pride or whatever it is we happen to be feeling, and leave room for the magic of the current  moment to take its place. Many of us feel as if we cannot just stop being mad- that our anger is justified.

Justify your anger or not-the anger will still do you no good.  Most of the things that make you angry today will not bother you next week, next year or certainly not next month. If they are not worth carrying into the future, why contaiminate another moments promise of freedom with the chains of unhappiness?

We are born to be Happy

"children guessed... but only a few and down they forgot as up they grew"
                                                                                                           ~e.e.commings


I love to watch children playing. It reminds me of the essence of life.  Playing children are not asking permission to be happy; they are not worrying about what thay need to do later; they are not putting their happiness on hold for another time. They live in the present moment, that is, unless they have been conditioned to do elsewise.

We have a lot to learn from children.  Children, because they are new to the world and to society, have not yet forgotten the wonders of living. They are committed to having fun, to enjoying life, and to living authentically.

We were all born knowing there is happiness inside of us, waiting to be released. This is why we are all trying to seek pleasure and avoid pain throught the entirety of our lives. Many of us loose our child-like zest for life, some before others. We forget how to forgive, we forget how to be happy, we forget how to live.We follow the tired examples of those around us, mistaking child-like love, kindness, and joy for childish naivety.

One must realize, as every innocent child assumes, that there is never a better time to be happy than in the here and now. The past is a memory, and the future is a plan, but the here and now is always our experience. If one is always putting happiness aside, placing conditions on one's own happiness (such as when I am in a better space, when I am in a better relationship, when I get this promotion, when there is an end to poverty and hunger) it is unlikely that we will ever get to be happy.  There will always be a reason to be unhappy if we search for it. The good news is that the opposite is also true. There will always be reasons to be happy if we look for them. In each situation, no matter how seemingly terrible, there is always something to be Glad for.  With practice it gets easier and easier to find the good in easch situation, even if it is something seemingly simple.

Getting in the "Attitude of Gratitude" is an easy way to remember to find the situations positive side. And one must never deny the importance of playing the "Glad game" and make it part of your thought pattern to continually find something, anything, to be happy about in each situation. It may sound child-ish and naive, but I am suggesting that it is instead a child like activity that will add not only value to your life, but value to the lives of those around you.

Choosing to Remeber

Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing. ~
                                                                                             Camille Pissaro


We have been encouraged to "Forget." Life, or at least society, easily influences one to feel as though there is not much reason to be Glad. It is hard to see the beauty of a baby when you are focused on the irratance of his cry. When you feel helpless in a situation, it may be hard to remember the strength of your mind.  I have been caught up in many situations were it seems hard, if not impossible, to be happy and I am sure that others have had the same experience.  


So how does one remain in a state of cheerful expectation when life throws curve balls?  How can we Remeber the Peace of the Present moment when surrounded in suffering? How can one person react one way in a seemingly impossible situation and another act totally different?

There are factors that come into play in suffering, most noticibly, there is a difference in perception. Perception influences us in powerful ways. Do we, as humans, even know the difference between reality and perception?

                        Reality is nothing more than what we percieve it to be.

Our perception paints our life whatever color we so choose. If we percieve a situation to be terrible, than our reality of that situation becomes a terrible one. When we percieve our situation to be a great one, than our reality of that situation becomes great. It is all in the perception.  We have a choice in every situation that comes along. We can choose to accept it, to change it, or to change our situation of it.

I am choosing to Remember that each time a person, thought or situation challenges my ability to remain in a Peaceful Presence that my Soul is being encouraged to grow. Each time my heart fills with anger, depression or apathy it hints that I have granted myself permission to allow my perceptions of the outside world cloud Who I am. Each seemingly negative feeling is helping to remind me to exercise my ability to remain Authentic to Myself and my choice to Love Life. 

 My inability to be easily content in certain situations will shine a light on my foundation, showing any cracks that need to be filled, any areas of my Awakening Mind, my Peaceful Mind, my Eternal Soul that need to be examed, that need tending. This is how people grow.  When we are comfortable and content, although we may not be suffering, we may not as easily see where there is room for growth.  The situations that are easy to be in a state of joy are wonderful experiences and should be celebrated, but I believe that the most important time to focus on happiness is when it is not easy to find.

And, as those of us from small towns so easily recognize, there is always a reason to celebrate, no matter how small the occasion.

Rekindling my Love Affair with Life.

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help to create that fact. ~ William James.

It has been far too long since I woke up eager to start my day, with the joyful motivation that comes only from loving life. I had fallen out of love with life. Some people call it "growing up." I call it "Forgetting." (Capital intended.) Gradually I had become aware that I was living in an "every day is no different than the last"  Mind Frame. This, not so suddenly, has become completely unacceptable. The world is Awakening - and I am on my Way. And I need to do my part to create the life we all innately deserve.

 With Awakening comes awareness. And I have been blessed with a new found awareness that life is much too short not to be happy. Cliche sounding I realize, but I am committing - to myself and to the World - that I will rekindle my love affair with life. In fact, I completely refuse not to be in Love with life. Many times I have felt the aching in my heart, the ecstatic feeling of oneness with all. And I want it back. Everyday. For Life. 

Life is wonderfully complicated and chaotically serene.  When one contemplates the perfection of the river's bend, the diversity of the cells in a fingernail, or the strength of the average ant, it is easy to see that there is perfection in every minute detail.  Life is so profuse and intricate. The complex vibrational waves created by a beloved song interacts with the precisely placed drum in the human ear to produce noises of comfort and pleasure. This interaction is only one of the many examples of the inter winding of the perceiver with the perceived. 

To me, there is no greater purpose for us humans than to Experience life. And I feel blessed to be here  experiencing every moment. To me, that is the purpose of life. And I am making the choice to have a great experience. I am no longer letting any opportunity for celebration go unnoticed. I am choosing to find something to be glad about in every passing moment. I am choosing to be blissfully happy. I am choosing to view life through rose colored glasses. I am choosing to be Pollyanna Pinkelstein.

I am choosing to be in Love with Life.                                                          

                         And I hope you choose to do so too.