Happiness Is Found In The Present
"The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common."...Ralph Waldo Emerson
I posted this on my Facebook page but it really bears sharing to the entire world: "Of all the things someone could wish for you...health and happiness are BY FAR the greatest. Life is too short to fret upon most of the things we WORRY about...most of which never COME about.
We can't let the years, the chances, & important opportunities pass us by...thinking mistakenly that happiness is somewhere in the future...a destination to arrive at. Happiness is HERE! It's in the NOW! It's hearing your children's laughter. It's spending time with your family and the friends who mean the world to you. It's doing activities that you've enjoyed since you were a kid. It's the greatest gift you can...and should...give yourself. We have to be present to appreciate the moments that would otherwise elude us."
This, choosing to live in the present, IS something we have a choice in doing. I know too many people who stay firmly entrenched in the past, feeling guilty about transgressions and mistakes they made in an earlier chapter of their lives. Blaming themselves for things that occurred and that they can never go back and change. That type of emotional baggage is just too much to carry around. It serves no purpose except to weigh you down. You cannot change the past. Let it go.
Constantly worrying about the future is the ugly twin sister of living in the past. It creates needless anxiety. It robs you of the sights and sounds of the here and now that you can get pleasure from. People all to often fall into the "what if" trap. "What if this happens? What if that happens?" Running a million scenarios through their heads that usually never take place...and if they do it's usually not as bad as they thought it would be.
Happiness is such an important part of our emotional well being. I know that the entire field of psychology has opened up to the model of studying happy and well adjusted people, not just the people who have behavioral and emotional problems to deal with. I really think that's a step in the right direction. Let's become students of successful, happy people also to see what we can learn from them in order to better help people with true clinical depression. We have to know and understand both sides of the spectrum...and everything in the middle. Kudos to the modern day practitioners in the mental health field.
I am admittedly not a mental health expert. But I have enough life experience behind me to know that unconditional love, acceptance, hope, faith, perspective, gratitude, and choice all are factors which play a role in how happy one can be. And it's helped me to examine my own thoughts and utilize the advice of many who suggest trying to get the most out of life by focusing on the here and now. There are wondrous things surrounding us each and every day. We have to tune into the present to derive the most out of life. Tomorrow is simply not guaranteed. Plan and work for an awesome future, but enjoy the journey. Reflect on the past...but don't obsess about things you are unable to change.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change...the courage to change the things I can...and the wisdom to know the difference.
Until next time...
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