Are you in a slump?
Sometimes life gets overwhelming and no matter what you do, you just can't seem
to find your happiness. It is my firm belief that you never truly
"lose" your happiness. I believe that you may be focusing your
thoughts entirely too much on things that do not serve your purposes. Canadian
Author, L.M. Montgomery
once said, "It's been my experience
that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that
you will." I agree with Ms. Montgomery. You must make a conscious
effort to enjoy your life at every level along your journey. In other words,
you must choose happiness. You cannot find something that was never lost.
I have a
longtime friend, who has had many ups and downs in her life. She told me a
story about how one day she was thinking about her dog, who had just passed
away. She was saddened thinking about him and began to cry. As luck would have
it, her very young grandson entered the room and noticed the tears across her cheeks.
Puzzled as to why she was crying, he asked her, "Nana, why are you crying?" To which she responded, "I am just very sad because I miss my
dog." Rubbing his temple, the little blue-eyed boy put his hand on her
shoulder and replied excitedly, "That's
okay, Nana - he is in Heaven now! You don't have to be sad." My friend
could not help but smile by his innocent enthusiasm and compassion. He wanted
to reassure her that because the pet had made it to Heaven, he was okay now. It
is that childlike passion for life and the constant expression of happiness
that many of us commonly take for granted and do not openly express ourselves.
Whether
you are feeling saddened by the loss of a loved one, are feeling down because
you are at odds with a family member or friend, or maybe you just feel sad
because you want more out of life -- I want you to inject some of that same
childlike quality into your own life. Close your eyes and think back to a time
when you were little and you couldn't stop laughing. You were so happy and
there was nothing that could make you feel badly. Now capture that warm and
peaceful image in your mind. How does it
make you feel? I promise if you are not smiling yet, you will be.
When you
feel down and you are trying to "find happiness" in your life, I want
you to reflect on that little girl or boy you remember from a long time ago.
The same holds true for every aspect of your life - from work, to home, to
family, friends and dreams. When you begin seeing life through the eyes of your
inner child, you stop concentrating on the negatives and start refocusing on
all the blessings that surround you.
There are
many more blessings than you can even begin to count on one hand. You need only
open your eyes to see them right in front of you. Going forward, make the
active choice to find joy in everyday living. Go to work with enthusiasm, love
your family unconditionally, make friends with someone new, laugh a little harder,
honor those who support you, invite more to come to know you, show more
compassion, dare to dream, and always make the best of a bad situation. Yes,
life will give you lemons but you don't have to drink the sourness - instead,
make lemonade and taste the sweetness you create all by yourself.
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