Here and now we are intended to be happy.
Please discuss. How does this play out in life?
I’ll start us out. If we asked ourselves, how many of us could affirm that we are enjoying life right now? Not just having the sense of “Hey, this is pretty okay”, but rather feeling “I am in love with what is happening in this exact moment.” In life, most of us likely have bad stretches, so-so periods, fairly okay bits, and the occasional deliriously wonderful episodes.
This COVID-influenced year of 202 has taught us all about the art of being content with what we have. We’ve learned to focus on what is working and appreciate what is. We’re keeping gratitude journals and trying to stay positive as we also try to stay safe. This can present challenges, as we miss so many traditional sources of enjoyment—larger parties and celebrations, live sporting events, theater, live music and concerts, etc. We feel, and to a degree are, physically distanced from the happiness of shared social community. Sometimes it seems that Facebook and Zoom just don’t cut it.
There is, however, a marked experiential difference between the trickle feed of contentment and the overwhelming wash of bliss. We need both to sustain a rich and soul nourishing life, and the latter seems harder to find in current circumstances. We’ve schooled ourselves to feel more content and to focus on what we do have. This is good and healthy. We will also want to put energy and effort into generating peak life experiences for ourselves, with what we have at hand and where we are right now.
Most of us could list off things we want to accomplish in the near future, the next day or two. How many of the items would be things done purely for enjoyment, to feed our spirits? We tend to put sheer happiness in the “nice to have” category and hope that it finds us. We don’t see if as something to actively gift ourselves, a necessary nutrient for a fulfilling life, vitamin H.
Today’s message reminds me that I am in charge of creating my own happiness. When I devote time and effort into fostering joy for myself, I self renew and have plenty of happiness to share with others, too. This is, after all, what life is about: loving myself, my life, all creation and spreading that love outward. I was designed with happiness in mind, and so were you.
How about you? What one thing could you do within the next day that would bring you sheer happiness? repeat as necessary, please.