The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet. ~ James Oppenheim
Yesterday I was simply happy to be me.
I wasn’t looking for stuff to be happy.
I wasn’t waiting to be happy.
I didn’t need anything to be happy.
Sometimes we forget that life is short and we waste it trying to be like someone else, or have what someone else has. It’s natural for us to always be seeking expansion and growth, but don’t let your desire for greater success blind you to who you are or what you already have.
It’s all too easy to focus attention on comparing our life with another but what a waste; as we do this we diminish our own blessings.
As in the laws of nature, whatever we plant returns to us in abundance and the real key to joyful living is to only plant what we truly want to reap.
You’ve got this one life and while it’s here make sure you’re living it to the full. Decide to be the happiest person you know…it’s easier than you might expect.
Being your best
There is only one you. Nobody does you better. And being yourself in a world that believes it knows who you should be, or is trying to make you be someone else, will one day count as one of your greatest feats.
There’s nothing to fix because you’re not broken. It’s okay to listen to the wise counsel of others, but it’s not okay to be bullied into silence or accept victimhood. You are powerful beyond measure, accept your perfect imperfection. Go out and radiate your best you onto the rest of us…you have no idea how much we might need it.
Be willing to let go
Days ebb and flow. Some good moments, some great ones, some you’d rather hadn’t happened. Sometimes it’s necessary to just let things go. If it’s weighing on your heart, let it go. Don’t tie yourself to sadness or mistakes.
You grow best when you have room to expand. Hanging on to old hurts and wounds means you’re filling your life so full of regrets that there’s little room for greater happiness. Who knows, maybe you’ll lose your world but gain a universe.
Welcome miracles
Your life is a series of mini miracles. Be willing to accept that strange feeling of not always knowing in which direction to head. Stand on the edge of the cliff unafraid because it’s the time, when you leap with no idea where you’ll land, that you miraculously discover you have wings.
This is where giving up things that weigh you down comes in handy.
When things look as though they’re falling apart, the miracle is that they’re falling into place. Expect it. An amazingly abundant world awaits.
Practice gratitude
Last week I chose to have a gratitude day. From the moment I woke up to the time I went to bed I counted the things I was grateful for.
No nitpicking, no stressing about anything, I was intentionally practicing gratitude.
I started right at the beginning:
I am so grateful for the warm and comfy bed I woke up in.
I am so grateful for the hot, running water of my shower.
I am so grateful for my body, just the way it is, just the way it feels.
I am so grateful for the food I ate, the home I lived in, the music I heard, the love in my life.
I am so grateful for my safe, reliable car.
I am so grateful for the beautiful world I live in.
I am so grateful for the assistants in the store who joked and had fun with me.
And then, driving home, having experienced all these moments of gratitude, and more throughout the morning, I found myself buoyed and elated. I was aglow with joy and contentment and peace. I could feel my body literally vibrating in delight. It was spectacular.
No amount of money could buy that feeling. It was generated through gratitude.
My day flowed easily; a challenge with my bank was laughingly resolved. A gift I was seeking that apparently was unavailable was there right in front of me. Life flowed to me in generous abundance.
Giving yourself the gift of a gratitude day is wonderful nourishment for your journey to tomorrow.
Occasionally we make life more complicated than it need be. Our joy is attached to accomplishments and we seek it in all the wrong places and things. The most wonderful things in the world are waiting to be revealed. Don’t allow something precious to be lost whilst seeking joy and happiness in all the wrong places.
How about having a grateful day?
Do it often enough and you’ll find yourself always that one thought away from being the happiest person you know.
You can begin now by thinking of at least ten things you’re grateful for and share them in the comments below.
I’d love to hear from you.
As always, I am thankful for you. I am so grateful to you for reading and sharing and commenting. You are awesome.
Encourage one another.
Love Elle
20 Comments
Hi Elle 🙂
Let’s see…I am grateful for…
you and Vidya, because every time I visit I leave smiling
my two munchkins
eyes to see
hands to type
legs that can still take me out the door for a walk to buoy the spirit
Spirit
the roof over our heads
my job
my blogging community
being part of the All
Munchkins eh, Julie! 😀 Hugs!
Elle – I am grateful to wake up every morning and receive hugs and smiles from my people. Then, everything is just great from that moment on. Even when Sury is not in town, he’ll make it a point to call and say “Good morning” and I love it. What a feel good post!
Love ya!
Hi Vidya…I suspect you’re blessed with a sunny disposition. 🙂
Hi Julie, so much to be grateful for, I love the gratitude for munchkins…so sweet. And I’m grateful for my newfound blogging friends like you dear heart. 🙂
This is so uplifting, Elle. I appreciate the way you showed us how you cultivate gratitude moment by moment.
Hi Sandra, so happy the quotes are uplifting…I love to read wise words on a daily basis and let them sink into my beingness. Which of course is why I love your Thich Nhat Hanh quotes. Just beautiful. I’m looking forward to having you as a guest author in the very near future! 🙂
Elle–
Isn’t it amazing how one days we can be happy for no reason at all and other days we wake up foggy and need to set our intention to try to not let the ‘little stuff’ stress ourselves out.
Fantastic phrase – Is this an Elle original???
When things look as though they’re falling apart, the miracle is that they’re falling into place. Expect it. An amazingly abundant world awaits.
Much love – Fran
Hi Fran, it’s so true that we can turn the way we feel into a much greater space and it’s really not too difficult! 🙂
What an inspirational post, Elle! I love your idea of having a gratitude day and that you found yourself “buoyed and elated.” You have a great way of showing us that happiness is really available to all of us, we just need to open ourselves to it and be ready! Take care.
Hi Cathy, so happy you enjoyed the post. I’m finding that a gratitude day soon becomes a gratitude week. Habits like this work really well for us…I could use a few more and then I won’t have any room for the negative stuff! 🙂
I love this, Elle! I had a couple of challenges over the weekend (home improvement related, of course) and flowed through with a smile! Needless to say both issues were fixed quickly, easily, inexpensively, and I am grateful I am able to do that myself! Being happy is everything!
Hi Cher, naturally it’s home improvement related…you are the Queen. How wonderful you moved through it all with gratitude and a smile. Good job you. 🙂
Hi Elle, yes, gratefulness for simply being:) and for the many small and big things in our life.
I’m grateful for the part of the country I live in, beautiful weather, friends and family, being able to do the work that I do, to know many inspiring people, to be able to travel, write, blog, have clean water and healthy food and read many inspiring works of literature.
Any time I have a gripe, reflections of gratitude can change my perspective.
Hi Vishnu, you are spot on my friend, reflections of all the things we’re grateful for makes a huge difference in life. 🙂
Elle ~ What a year 2013 has been! I’m so grateful for warm-hearted, like-minded friends I’ve connected with all over the world ~ for the chance to write and speak whenever I want! ~ for my family ~ for the beauty of Nature in winter ~ for butternut squash soup simmering on the stove ~ for my body and my health . . . Wishing you a Joy-Filled Holiday!
Hi Martine, I for one am grateful to have connected with you. And oooh I like the idea of the soup simmering…that’s a cool thing to be grateful for. 🙂
Hi Elle,
That’s a great post again.And i must say gratitude beats everything else that’s required to balance our emotions for achieving happiness.
You’re so right about having a swinging time just being grateful about the bounties of life.
Thanks
Mona
Hi Elle; Thanks for another wonderful post. I love the idea of a gratitude day. wayne dyer talks about an abundance stone some little piece of something that you can hold in your hand or feel in your pocket that reminds you to be thankful for the wonderful people and things in your life. me, i often find my family thinking i don’t care or worry about things because i am more generally focused on the good that can be found or on finding a solution. I do get down some and cry a little when the situation warrants it, but usually i don’t spend much time. I’m also not big on what we call rehashing in th carnival business. I don’t enjoy retelling stories unless they are positive or at least funny. thanks again and have a blessed 2014, max
Thank you for the great post. To be happy is so simple. We are trained to search high and low for it, but it’s just there for us to feel it. I love what you said, life is filled with mini miracles. Being awake everyday is already a miracle. Doing something for myself and contributing to the world is already a miracle.
And thank you Joe for stopping by. One of the great things in living a full live is surely to be aware. Aware of the miracles, aware of the joys, aware of simply living. You put things so well. 🙂