H is for HAPPINESS

Happiness – a simple topic right? No! Happiness could be seen as something we all feel and that we all should have as our goal in life, but what if happiness is simply a transient feeling that cannot be pinned down or added to a list of goals in life?

We all probably would prefer to feel the ‘positive’ emotions of joy, excitement and peace, but what if a better meaning for happiness could be to allow all our emotions including sadness, rage, anger, fear and envy? Because surely when we are able to not only accept these feelings, but also to look forward to the changing tide of our emotions, isn’t this real happiness? To not fixate on one thing or another to bring about a certain result?

I readily admit that a part of me of course would prefer to feel joy, excitement and peace instead of sadness, rage, anger, fear and envy, but I now recognise that when joy comes it will go, when excitement comes it will go, when sadness comes it will go and so on.

 True happiness cannot be found in things that change and pass away. Pleasure and pain alternate inexorably. Happiness comes from the Self and can be found in the Self only. Find your real Self and all else will come with it.  – Nisargadatta Maharaj

 

Happiness Comes From Within


In my younger years I always looked outside me for happiness and even in my adult years there is still an element of programming encouraging me to look outside not inside. But the more I meditate, the more I am in the moment, the more I fix my gaze on what is here now, not what is in the future or the pain of the past, happiness bubbles up as a spacious feeling inside me, as if the galaxy is contained within me with all its stars and planets of pure potential.

Happiness is a direct experience arising from your innate nature.   ~ Jac O’ Keefe

Happiness cannot be found in other people, it cannot be found in a new car, a new house, a new romance or even more money. We think that happiness comes from these things, but it doesn’t. However, people and outside ‘stuff’ can trigger a desire to know ourselves, to delve deep inside to see who we really are, and then the outer can enhance the inner and vice versa.

For example, you could be in a new relationship and pin all your hopes and dreams on this man or woman, you may get lost in that person and lose who you are, but to your unique knowing, your inner wisdom, this would be a relationship that is not serving to bring you home to yourself.

However, if you are with someone and they become the icing on the cake in your vast life, not the whole cake or the whole enchilada, they become someone who enhances you and encourages you home to yourself – where true happiness lies.

If they were to leave you, yes you may feel heart break, but you would not die or drown, instead you would open up your heart to you and tenderly comfort yourself as you let go of what was.

Seeing Others As YOU
 

The more time we spend getting to know who we are, the more we experience the entire world as part of us, bringing such a genuine feeling of happiness to see the tree, the bird, the lover, the sky as one with who we are, then separation is removed and all that is left is pure essence.


All external circumstances, activities, possessions and events are designed to keep the mind entertained. But happiness is outside the realm of the mind.  ~ Jac O’ Keefe

This Moment Is Enough

This is where the problem lies. We think this moment is not enough. There is also a billion dollar self-help industry that prescribes goal setting, to the law of attraction (creating a reality other than ‘what is’ right now and a way of thinking that encourages primarily positive thinking).

In my book ‘When Everyone Shines But You’ these subjects are covered with clarity. To be okay with ‘what is’; to embrace all of who we are; releasing control; then a deep letting go takes place inside. Life naturally evokes happiness from within when we choose to love and be in this moment only.
 
Question
 
 What is happiness to you?
This post is part of my A to Z blogging challenge. Drop 
by tomorrow to see what the letter I will be about.
 
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Kelly Martin
Kelly Martin

Kelly Martin, author of ‘When Everyone Shines But You’ is a dedicated writer and blogger who fearlessly explores life’s deepest questions. Faced with a decade of profound anxiety and grief following the loss of her father and her best friend Michael, Kelly embarked on a transformative journey guided by mindfulness, and she hasn’t looked back since. Through her insightful writing, engaging podcasts, and inspiring You Tube channel Kelly empowers others to unearth the hidden treasures within their pain, embracing the profound truth that they are ‘enough’ exactly as they are.

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