What Makes You Happy?

So a friend of mine asked the question on Facebook, “What Makes You Happy”.  There were a TON of responses.  Here are some of them.  Not necessarily verbatim, but the gist of what people said:

• I start by choosing to be happy and count my blessings
• Taking a risk (and winding up happy)
• I cannot find my true happiness outside my family
• My happiness has been fleeting and did not last, vitamins helped with depression
• Going to the movies
• Being self-sufficient
• Happiness is not something I find, it is something I strive to be

There were quite a few comments of people that were having a hard time finding happiness.  Happiness truly does come from within.  Sometimes we can get so focused on the stresses of life that we actually forget that it is okay to be happy.  We may (or may not), be surrounded by people who are unhappy and it brings our attention to all that is wrong in our world.

Just look at children.  Children know how to be happy.  All they need is some love and attention.  It is unfortunate that so many people are teaching their children that life is too stressful to be happy.  Children should be teaching US how to be happy and in our moment, but what I see is parents that are so stressed out and living in a different time; past, or future, that they cannot be present with their kids.  That just makes more stressed out adults in the future.  If you want to see a stressed out child, just look at a stressed out adult that cannot be present in the moment with their child.  When a child needs attention, and an adult is only giving them a half-assed attempt at attention, the child will scream and kick up a fuss.  Then the adult thinks it is the child that is causing stress.  That’s not the case, it is the adults lack of undivided attention in the moment that is stressing out the child.  Children can be wonderful mirrors to your life.  If you are blessed enough to have a child in your life try just spending time with them, colouring, reading, or playing with blocks, or going for a walk and looking through their eyes.  If you don’t have a child in your life, just go to the park and watch the children ~ you can learn a lot.

Truly, happiness comes from moments not lifestyle.  You have a choice in each and every moment whether to be appreciating a moment, or focusing elsewhere.  You can even find happiness in doing the dishes if you want to.  You could focus on your ‘messy, ungrateful family’, or you can focus on the fact that you can lose yourself in the moment of the dishes.  Feeling the warm water on your hands, the squeaky cleanness of plates, how your kitchen looks now that the dishes aren’t on the counter anymore.  If you go into your moment and keep your thoughts present, you will be able to find you have many more happy moments.  Happy moments make for a happy life.

This is something I have personally been working on myself as well.  Staying in a constant state of appreciation ~ it brings a lot of happiness.  I don’t have everything I want in my life, I never will because as I get what I want, I expand my consciousness and want more (or different).  Just know that when it comes right down to it, it doesn’t matter what external things you want, if you are not happy, none of it will matter.  Without happiness and appreciation nothing external will make you happy anyway.

Don’t let anyone else tell you how to be happy.  Just BE.  Be in your moment, appreciate, and see and experience just how happy you can be. If your thoughts wander to another place, or another time that is uncomfortable, just bring yourself right back into your present moment and find something that is here and now to focus on and appreciate.

Love

Tamara