H A P P I N E S S

What does it mean to you? The meaning has changed a lot for me over the past 10 years or so, largely because I’ve seen it is actually a myth.

I think we’ve been sold a whole lot of bullshit when it comes to this happiness thing. We’re told things like happiness is our natural state, happiness means feeling good all the time, and then if we’re not feeling ‘happy’ all the time then there is something wrong with us.

What is far more true of all human beings is that our ‘natural state’ is an ever changing flow of emotions. And with that flow of emotions comes constantly changing feelings. Both of these are ever changing like the weather is.

And this constantly changing flow is actually normal, and doesn’t mean you’re defective in any way.

What does make a difference to our ‘happiness’ is our relationship to our ever changing state of mind. If we don’t understand it’s normal and part of being human, we will try to get in and fix it by thinking, doing and running our way out of it. It would be like expecting we could change the weather in winter back to a warm summer day… we would just get exhausted and definitely nowhere.

Happiness to me is flow. Being in a state of flow in my life. Noticing when my mind is creating turmoil, and allowing it to be that way. In fact, expecting it to be that way at times!

Noticing, accepting, then focusing my attention back on to the flow of my day, and continuing to make choices that align with my heart and what matters to me.

The thing with life is that it brings you pain all by itself. Love also brings pain, loss, anger, frustration, anxiety.. the full range of emotions that come with a rich, full and meaningful life.

That’s a given.

But no matter what feeling we are sitting in, we can still choose to do things in our life that cultivate love, joy and connection.

In fact the choices we make in how we act are the only choices that can never be taken from us. We get to choose how we see what is happening right in front of us.

“Happiness is flowing with life and experiencing the full range of emotions that come with it. It’s being comfortable in your own skin, and choosing to do things that align with your heart.”

Well, that’s what I’ve seen anyway.

Living my life this way has been a true gift.

What to learn more about where true happiness lives? Check out my group online program, The Art of Thriving.