I know what makes me happiest. Eight hours of sleep, tough exercise, good, whole, natural food, being productive, being in a clean environment, being creative, and having a good mix of play time and family time and me time. Savoring moments, getting ecstatic over little things, and being deeply grateful. Being on time and prepared for things. Playing outside, rain or shine.
Dagnabbit, why don't I do those things all the time?
I let little things get in the way. Little time-wasters that add up and keep from doing all of those things. I'll be honest, its mainly Facebook and texting this or that cute boy, with the occasional YouTube celebrity interview or hair tutorial binge. I've been letting those little things get in the way a lot lately. Awesome, I spent a half hour watching Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks resolve their forever-long feud on The Tyra Show last night, aaaand how did that enrich my life? Minimally. Very minimally. And in the meantime, I lost sleep.
Tonight, I want to make a commitment to myself to "live after the manner of happiness". Do the things that make me happy, make happiness a conscious choice. Happiness is no accident, and it wouldn't be so precious if it was! I think when I'm working to be happy, rather than just living life, I feel more satisfied because I see the bigger picture and I know I'm taking care of myself.
Another thing I've noticed is that I'm happier when I have clear goals to improve, goals that I can mark improvement in weekly or even daily. Goals that I truly want, not that others want for me. I love looking back and seeing how I've purposefully learned and grown. (Although its always good to look back and see how I've accidentally learned and grown, too.)
Now, am I under the illusion that I'll make this commitment tonight and wake up with sunshine in my soul tomorrow and never again will a metaphorical rain cloud cross my sky? Not at all! Happiness isn't a destination, its a journey. . . . . or whatever that cliche is. For now we'll assume I have it right! I just want to put choosing happiness on my conscious radar again.
And along my journey, I do believe that there can be moments of pure happiness. When I am happiest, I have the ability to enjoy the here and now regardless of what happened 10 minutes ago, or what could happen any minute now, or what I'm not ready for tomorrow. I can look around at my circumstances that moment and find deep joy in how lucky I am.
My life isn't perfect, my family isn't perfect, I'm not perfect. Beyond just not being perfect, there is hurt and pain in my life, my family, and myself. But this is not hell, so it isn't all hurt and pain. This is not heaven either, so it isn't all love and respect. This is life. I guess that's what life is; a crossroads between heaven and hell, and each of us gets to choose which direction we're headed in. Sometimes I get so caught up in how close to the hell side I am, that I don't see how easily I could head towards heaven again, or how I actually am much closer to heaven than hell. I don't sleep in dirt streets in a country with an unstable government and volatile economy. I'm not so close to starving that my stomach is so big I look pregnant. I was not forced to fight in a civil war before I was even a teenager. I won't have to find my next meal in a garbage can. Looking around me now, at my piano, fireplace, warm blanket, tissues, rocking chair, and pictures of my family, I'm almost left breathless at how blessed I am.
Yes, I've thrown notes from boys who broke my heart into that fireplace. Yes, I've sat at the piano for a long time letting the notes keep me company because I didn't have any other way to process my feelings. No, my family definitely isn't all smiles like we are in all the pictures. But I have that fireplace, that piano, and my family. Doesn't that mean so much more in the big picture? And isn't it beautiful that if I can feel sadness so deeply, it must follow that I can feel happiness that deeply as well?
Well, what a wandering post this has been! Not my most polished by any means, but welcome to my raw thought process. What is your opinion on happiness? What is something that you know makes you happy but that you don't do enough? How would you like to resolve to choose happiness for often?
P.S.-Here's what got me in this mood-its a beautiful blog by a beautiful person referred to me by a beautiful friend! http://writingrainbows.blogspot.com/p/lovely-love-story.html?spref=fb and http://writingrainbows.blogspot.com/p/rare-chain-of-events.html Her hair tutorials are also great. :)
Dagnabbit, why don't I do those things all the time?
I let little things get in the way. Little time-wasters that add up and keep from doing all of those things. I'll be honest, its mainly Facebook and texting this or that cute boy, with the occasional YouTube celebrity interview or hair tutorial binge. I've been letting those little things get in the way a lot lately. Awesome, I spent a half hour watching Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks resolve their forever-long feud on The Tyra Show last night, aaaand how did that enrich my life? Minimally. Very minimally. And in the meantime, I lost sleep.
Tonight, I want to make a commitment to myself to "live after the manner of happiness". Do the things that make me happy, make happiness a conscious choice. Happiness is no accident, and it wouldn't be so precious if it was! I think when I'm working to be happy, rather than just living life, I feel more satisfied because I see the bigger picture and I know I'm taking care of myself.
Another thing I've noticed is that I'm happier when I have clear goals to improve, goals that I can mark improvement in weekly or even daily. Goals that I truly want, not that others want for me. I love looking back and seeing how I've purposefully learned and grown. (Although its always good to look back and see how I've accidentally learned and grown, too.)
Now, am I under the illusion that I'll make this commitment tonight and wake up with sunshine in my soul tomorrow and never again will a metaphorical rain cloud cross my sky? Not at all! Happiness isn't a destination, its a journey. . . . . or whatever that cliche is. For now we'll assume I have it right! I just want to put choosing happiness on my conscious radar again.
And along my journey, I do believe that there can be moments of pure happiness. When I am happiest, I have the ability to enjoy the here and now regardless of what happened 10 minutes ago, or what could happen any minute now, or what I'm not ready for tomorrow. I can look around at my circumstances that moment and find deep joy in how lucky I am.
My life isn't perfect, my family isn't perfect, I'm not perfect. Beyond just not being perfect, there is hurt and pain in my life, my family, and myself. But this is not hell, so it isn't all hurt and pain. This is not heaven either, so it isn't all love and respect. This is life. I guess that's what life is; a crossroads between heaven and hell, and each of us gets to choose which direction we're headed in. Sometimes I get so caught up in how close to the hell side I am, that I don't see how easily I could head towards heaven again, or how I actually am much closer to heaven than hell. I don't sleep in dirt streets in a country with an unstable government and volatile economy. I'm not so close to starving that my stomach is so big I look pregnant. I was not forced to fight in a civil war before I was even a teenager. I won't have to find my next meal in a garbage can. Looking around me now, at my piano, fireplace, warm blanket, tissues, rocking chair, and pictures of my family, I'm almost left breathless at how blessed I am.
Yes, I've thrown notes from boys who broke my heart into that fireplace. Yes, I've sat at the piano for a long time letting the notes keep me company because I didn't have any other way to process my feelings. No, my family definitely isn't all smiles like we are in all the pictures. But I have that fireplace, that piano, and my family. Doesn't that mean so much more in the big picture? And isn't it beautiful that if I can feel sadness so deeply, it must follow that I can feel happiness that deeply as well?
Well, what a wandering post this has been! Not my most polished by any means, but welcome to my raw thought process. What is your opinion on happiness? What is something that you know makes you happy but that you don't do enough? How would you like to resolve to choose happiness for often?
P.S.-Here's what got me in this mood-its a beautiful blog by a beautiful person referred to me by a beautiful friend! http://writingrainbows.blogspot.com/p/lovely-love-story.html?spref=fb and http://writingrainbows.blogspot.com/p/rare-chain-of-events.html Her hair tutorials are also great. :)
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