The course of our entire lives is nothing but a pursuit of happiness. Whatever we do, we do it to gain happiness. But happiness is elusive. It is like a butterfly that we can run after forever but can never catch. Also like a butterfly, it will alight on us when we sit still, when we make the conditions in our life conducive to its alighting on us.
No amount of money or possessions that we acquire or even the people who are a part of our lives are enough to make us happy. Happiness cannot be gained, or possessed, like a commodity. It is a journey, not a destination; a state of mind arrived at by setting our heart free - free of negative thoughts and emotions and people who clutter up our lives.
Life is not a mathematical equation, where two negatives will make a positive. Life is an amplifier, which increases whatever you hold on to, whether negativity or positivity.
To achieve this complex state of equilibrium, the only way forward is by setting yourself free of all encumbrances that threaten to pull you down- the negative emotions, negative people and negative actions, and balance them out with positivity, contentment and peace.
Of course it is not practical to remove negative things and people from our lives at will. So what do I do? I decide to deny entry to all negativity into my heart. Just let it bounce off the surface by filling my heart with so many roses that thorns do not get a place to edge in.
The only way to become happy and remain so is by systematically focusing on removing the negatives and replacing them with positives.
When you are hurt and unhappy, you begin to wonder how to get through life that is so unfair! At such moments, I don't think of trying to get through life. I just try to get through the moment...... by looking at a beautiful flower, watching a child play, or saying a prayer to God. When I am able to conquer the moment, I try getting through the hour by reading something interesting, by challenging myself with a crossword puzzle, watching a movie, talking to a friend, walking my dog or doing something to make someone else happy!
Distraction always works.
My mantra is to begin small and think big.
Practice brings perfection, and believe me, you will soon be adept at looking at the good things. It is now time to be proud of how you are able to convert moments of happiness into hours, hours into days, days into weeks, and you'll find that you learn to be happy not by gaining happiness but by giving up sadness. We can't wait for happiness to happen to us. It is not destiny but a choice we need to make. The key to our happiness is not in our worldly possessions, it is within us. We just need to look within and find it.
©M.S.