Happiness Now

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David

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David started a new thread for us. Thanks David!


“Dance as though no one is watching you,
Love as though you have never been hurt before,
Sing as though no one can hear you,
Live as though heaven is on earth.” – Unknown
 
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This was my first post explaining happiness now:

Hello folks, when I read this it kind of gave me a key to happiness, this staying in the moment and praising God for what we have rather than letting our attitude drift to "what could have been"...I hope you find it hopeful. And we could post here the things we are appreciative of TODAY. (but this is not to say that are not very tough times for pals/cals, but for the most part they do pass...)

How to Be Happy Anytime

Post written by Leo Babauta.

My friend Barron recently asked, “If you could be anywhere right now, doing anything you want, where would you be? And what would you be doing?”

And my answer was, “I’m always where I want to be, doing what I want to be doing.”

I’ve notice that in the past, like many people, I was always wishing I was doing something different, thinking about what I would do in the future, making plans for my life to come, reading (with jealousy) about cool things other people were doing.

It’s a fool’s game.

Many of us do this, but if you get into the mindset of thinking about what you *could* be doing, you’ll never be happy doing what you actually *are* doing. You’ll compare what you’re doing with what other people (on Facebook and Twitter, perhaps?) are doing. You’ll wish your life were better. You’ll never be satisfied, because there’s *always* something better to do.

Instead, I’ve adopted the mindset that whatever I’m doing right now is perfect. If I’m writing a post, that’s amazing. If I’m reading blog posts on the Internet, that’s interesting. If I’m doing nothing but hanging out with my family, that’s incredible. If I’m walking outside, enjoying the fresh air, that’s beautiful.

There’s nothing I’m ever doing that isn’t the most incredible thing on Earth. If I’m doing something sucky (I can’t remember doing that recently), maybe that’s an invaluable life lesson. If I’m with someone boring or obnoxious, it’s a lesson in patience, or empathy, or in learning to understand people better.

The Now Mindset, In Practice

Let’s say you’re washing the dishes. Wouldn’t you rather be having a delicious meal instead, or talking with your best friend? Sure, those things are great, but they’re only better if you believe they’re better, and more importantly, the comparison is totally unnecessary. Why should you compare what you’re doing now (washing dishes) with anything else? Wouldn’t almost anything lose out if you compare it to something you like more? Will you ever be happy with what you’re doing if you always compare it with something you like more?

Washing dishes can be as great as anything else, if you decide to see it that way. You’re in solitude, which is a beautiful thing. If you do it mindfully, washing dishes can be pleasant as you feel the suds and water in your hands, pay attention to the dish and its texture, notice your breathing and thoughts. It’s meditation, it’s quiet, it’s lovely.

You can say the same of anything. Driving to work? Enjoy the solitude, the chance to be alone with your thoughts, or to listen to music you love, to see the world around you. In a meeting with co-workers? Pay attention to how people talk and interact, learn about the human mind, see yourself in everyone around you, learn to love anyone no matter who they are, practice giving up expectations of who people should be or what this meeting should be like.

I’m always happy with what I’m doing, because I don’t compare it to anything else, and instead pay close attention to the activity itself. I’m always happy with whoever I’m with, because I learn to see the perfection in every person. I’m always happy with where I am, because there’s no place on Earth that’s not a miracle.

Life will suck if you are always wishing you’re doing something else. Life will rock if you realize you’re already doing the best thing ever.
 
Of Butterflies & Stillness
--by Shwetha Sridharan

Waiting for our departure, something in the sunlight caught my eye. A moving something. A small moving something. Could it really be? A butterfly had landed on the floormat inside the house. Beating its wings ever so slowly, trying to catch its breath. I crept closer, just wanting to capture its beauty in my hands. To admire its simplicity and intricate design. She sensed my presence, and we locked energies. Slowly, slowly, I inhaled and she beat up. I exhaled, she beat down. Me: Inhaling, exhaling. Her:beating up, beating down.

I pulled in closer and she stopped beating her wings. I held my breath. For fear of her fear, I crouched still and silent. Pulled my body in close, head in knees, bum against ankles. She had a story, I could tell. I imagine she was once a white monarch that flew higher and higher. Not like a bird that soars, but like blue waves on a white sand beach, bouncing and bobbing to anywhere. Like this she traveled laterally, all the way to the sun in a bliss unbound. A ray from the sun hung limp and loose, swaying like a Persian cat's tail. She must have been frightened, caught in this ray. The warmth of sunset orange covered her body like glue and the heat singed the ends of her wings black.

Finally, a release. She opened up again, trusting me. Every scale on her body shone brightly against the fading straw mat every time she stretched open her wings. Where have you been old lady? I asked. Why are you so unafraid of me the giant moving beast?

I just couldn't believe this moment. How lucky was I to have a direct interaction with nature? With one of its inhabitants, who knew I only wanted to learn and listen to the many stories it carried about faraway lands and sweet pollen? My eyes magnified like a telescope and I studied her abdomen nestled in between her wings every time she stretched. We weren't so different, she and I. I too want to rest sometimes, take a breather, soak in my surroundings

There are moments in time that we will remember forever, and they always always catch us by surprise. Which means we can never go looking for them, but only recognize them when they appear and just submit. Submitting to the moment is by far the most rewarding life lesson we can embody. So Thank you, butterfly, thank you for believing in me and my presence, because in your slow and unassuming process you made me stop and watch. You grabbed my attention and held it still, and like a baby, I got lost in your beauty.

Lately I have been seeing butterflies everywhere. Sometimes they lay on the ground, lifeless, and sometimes they are flitting away joyously with no reservations. It just seemed so paradoxical that butterflies would exist in this crazy town of cars noise and pollution. But they do! They Do! I always pictured them in gardens or fields, but never amongst the trash that sometimes lays across the side streets. What amazing notes of nature's instruments!
 
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Have a wonderful Sunday, a day of rest!

“Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance towards the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point.” - Harold B. Melchart

There is no real clock that compels you to race through the wonders of life, take time each day to look around and discover that sometimes where we thought we were going was really only to get us to where we are right now!
 
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Thanks David! I'm so happy for my blessings of my being loved by and loving my husband, my family, my beloved friends here and at home, a beautiful place to live, enough to eat and be as comfortable as I possibly can. There's so much to be thankful for. I forget how blessed I am sometimes.
 
I am so grateful for this thread and for the spiritual guidance I receive daily. Presence, in the moment,
is where I find so many unexpected blessings like light reflected off water in radiance. Thank you!
 
I am happy because I have the ability to wake up each morning and decide to be HAPPY!

Judy
 
Marta. Caro, Judith Ann thank you for posting...you lift my spirits up~

I am grateful for my friends, for the moments I appreciate everything I have, for hanging on to hope.


We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch.

- e.e. cummings -
 
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Hello and good morning everybody...hope you have a wonderful day enjoying the present moment~


Each day a new candle is lit in morning meditation in the sincere affirmation that everyone with whom I come in contact with this day will be blessed by love and protected from all that might seek to disturb their inner peace and love. I am grateful for so many to be a part of the circle which sustains me and by lighting a candle daily I am able to give back to those who though distant are always connected heart to heart.

“As we now bring fire to this
candle-wick, making it glow
with light, may we also bring
the fire of love to this time of prayer and inner reflection.
May this holy candle send forth dancing rays like
sunrise on the most glorious morning, and may
these rays of light encircle us and those we love .
We give you thanks O God,
for this happy moment and
we ask that as we are as one,
in this circle of light, we may always be one with
you in the circle of your loving presence.” – Unknown
 
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Grateful that you all are on this journey with me!
- the world would not be complete for me without
your gracious and loving spirits.
 
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I am so grateful that God woke me up this morning and I hope you are too. Wishing you a day filled with flowers, fun, kindness and lot's of laughter.....hope it's incredible!


There are times when it is hard to believe in the future, when we are temporarily just not brave enough. When this happens, concentrate on the present. Cultivate le petit bonheur (the little happiness) until courage returns. Look forward to the beauty of the next moment, the next hour, the promise of a good meal, sleep, a book, a movie, the likelihood that tonight the stars will shine and tomorrow the sun will shine. Sink roots into the present until the strength grows to think about tomorrow. ~~Ardis Whitman

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
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Thank you for your light Sequoia, I am so comforted by the image of the candle and circle of
friends. I made a decision to live as my highest self and I remind myself of that goal throughout
my day, when other thoughts creep in. Love the image of sinking roots into the present moment
and I love the daily reminders. So grateful in this moment.....thank you.
 
YOU ARE SO WELCOME CARO! :0)


It is my desire to learn to open my heart, listen to it, follow it and offer it to the world. If you'd care to join me on the journey, I would be honored to travel side by side, steadying each other as we stumble, rejoicing with each other as we progress, and reminding each other as we go that each moment is sacred.~~Terri St. Cloud


Love yourself—accept yourself—forgive yourself—and be good to yourself, because without you the rest of us are without a source of many wonderful things.
~~Leo F. Buscaglia.... ♥
 
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Good morning everybody....raining here today and its only 55* , I like cool weather! God waters the flowers the best!


Little Daffodils Spring From The Grass
Red, yellow and a tinge of orange
The carpet of flowers bringing colour to my life
And I feel the summer's warmth melting my heart.

Near the oak tree the birds chirp a song
A song of blessing to those around
Little do we know, what the song means
But it touches our soul till we're tingling deep within.

I look around to admire God's creation
And wonder, how much time I took off a day
To sit in my garden and enjoy the breeze
The whispering flowers
The swishing of leaves
And the sunset that leaves swirls of blue and orange in the sky
Coloring the horizon
Coloring my garden.
 
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