Sitting at my computer this morning, my eyes caught site of the fall leaves blowing around in our yard; the sun dancing as they swirled and twirled about.
I stopped all my busyness and sat quietly, staring through the window as a squirrel scampered about, its tail flipping and twitching. I smiled, feeling genuinely happy.
Any other day, I might have missed nature’s playground.
But today, I made a conscious choice to stop, notice, and feel happy.
As Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays,
“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued is always beyond our grasp,
but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”
Yet, happiness always seems to be beyond our grasp.
We say we’ll be happy when we…
…win the lottery.
…retire.
…lose weight.
…graduate.
…land the perfect job.
…get more clients.
…find love.
…have a child.
…get promoted.
We pursue and grasp for happiness, “When….”
When, instead, we can choose to be happy whenever we want.
Even in the midst of troubling, unsettling, and painful times, we can decide.
Alighting Happiness
Here’s a happiness experiment from Pam Grout’s E-Cubed that goes like this:
Complete the following sentences:
“When _____, I will be happy.”
“As soon as _____, I will be happy.”
“If _____would only _____, I will be happy.”
Now, return to your sentences and delete every word before “I will be happy.”
Sit quietly, notice what alights upon you.
“I will be happy.”
“I will be happy.”
“I will be happy.”
When you remove the when, as soon as, and if, you create space to sit down quietly and allow happiness to alight upon you.
You decide happiness, instead of pursue it.
You consciously stop grasping for happiness in a…
…a cupcake.
…a bottle.
…a credit card.
…a bag of chips.
…a new car.
…a relationship.
…a 6-pack.
…a title.
…a bank statement.
As Abraham Lincoln proclaims,
“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”
Once you make the conscious choice to sit down quietly and feel happiness on purpose and for real, the pursuit ends.
A butterfly alights…or a squirrel.
Sending you inspiration,
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