Choosing Happiness

 Our lives are rich with potential sources of happiness, but sometimes we become victims of negative thinking because we believe that focusing on all that has gone wrong will provide us with the motivation we need to face the challenges of survival. When we choose to focus on what brings us joy, however, a shift occurs in the fabric of our existence. Finding something to be happy about every single day can help this shift take place. The vantage points from which we view the world are brought into balance, and we can see that being alive truly is a gift to be savored. There is always something we can be happy about — it’s simply up to us to identify it.

On one day, we may find happiness in a momentous, life-changing event such as a marriage or the birth of a child. On another day, it could be the simple pleasure of a well-brewed cup of tea or the way the sun shines on a leaf. If we discover that we literally cannot call to mind a single happy element of our existence, we should examine the cause of the blockage standing between us and experiencing joy. Keeping a happiness journal is a wonderful way to catalog the delights unfolding all around us so that joy has myriad opportunities to manifest itself in our lives. Writing about the emotions we experience while contemplating joy may give us insight into the factors compelling us to resist it.

Happiness may not always come easily into your life. You have likely been conditioned to believe that the proper response to unmet expectations is one of sadness, anger, guilt, or fear. To make joy a fixture in your existence, you must first accept that it is within your power to choose happiness over unhappiness every single day. Then, each time you discover some new source of joy, the notion that the world is a happy place will find its way more deeply into your soul. On this day, find one thing to be happy about and let it fill your heart. (Daily OM)