Happiness, is not in another place, but this place not for another hour but this hour – Walt Whitman.
Wouldn’t life become simple if we can just drop off expectations and habitual responses and allow physical, behavioural and mental happiness-inducing actions to take over.
But for most of us this is not the case. We fall into our habitual patterns of responding, thinking and feeling that trying to switch to happiness-inducing actions feels like an act and we don’t want to do it.
It is important to remember that our days are filled with ups and downs, difficult moments and easier ones, so it is natural to feel tightness in our shoulders from time to time, or feel anger and mindless thoughts. And yet, happiness, relaxations, love are also always available.
We don’t need to deny our sad moments, our angry moments, our shoulder tightening moments, we simply also look at our life’s moments with different eyes in order to touch our world with a wider reality.
How can one do that, you ask?
Here is a simple exercise that you can follow. You don’t have to physically move away for each time you practice but try to make a mental shift by taking a deep breath before you start.
Just for this teeny little moment, in this sliver of space and time I invite you to drop all pretence, all comparisons and all the targets that needs reaching.
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Take a deep breath
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and again
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A deep breath from the belly.
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Become aware of your body. Especially your brows, jaws, temples, showlder neck, lower back, thighs, calf muscles, and other places in your body where tension resides.
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Ease the tension out on several out-breaths.
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Feel settled in your seat. Move a bit and adjust your seat if you need to.
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Let go of all the stories of what should be, what ought to be and must be in order for you to feel happy.
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Let it go only for this moment
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And this moment
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Look at your surroundings and notice things and people you like right now. Yes, just like. What do you like about your current moment. Take a few minutes and observe. When I say “like” it could be anything-the color on the wall, the shape of the spoon, the scent of the flower, ANYTHING.
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Now, really embrace this moment in time and dare I say, be happy. Happy for the journey you are on, happy for putting yourself out there and living this life despite fear, happy for this glorious little pause. Happy, just because.
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Yes, sink into this happiness. Let it seep in to your entire body. You deserve it. The world deserves it.
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I’ll leave you with this beautiful quote by Pema Chodron from “The Places that Scare You”, “ Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite.It actually takes guts. Each time we drop our complaints and allow every day good fortune to inspire us, we enter the warrior’s world. We can do this even at the most difficult moments. Everything we hear, taste, and smell has the power to strengthen and uplift us.”