What happiness… “Today marks the beginning of an awesome, exciting year ahead”, my love said on the first day of 2016. Indeed it does. My current happiness is a tribute to to the fact that change is possible. A tribute that says: if one is miserable, one can change their current state… with just a few, seemingly-impossible, incredibly challenging decisions, of course.
But they are life changing – and isn’t that the point? Was it just four years ago that I was newly separated from an unhealthy marriage, ridden with ulcer-forming anxiety, torn on a soul-deep level, entirely unsure of what my future held and what happiness looked like?
It all seems light years away, as if from a different universe, a different life, a different person altogether.
Here I am, at the dawn of 2016, writing down my hopes and dreams (not resolutions – those are silly) for my life for the next twelve months. It will be my first year living in another country. It will be my first year working somewhere other than the hospital that has more or less borne and raised me for the last 6+ years. It will be the first year in which I publish a book (but certainly not the last).
It will be my third year, however, practicing presence. I have been practicing this most recently with the mantra, “Find happiness in the the in-between moments”. That is, I have been practicing finding beauty and joy in waiting for a train, in walking down the street between destinations, and in those slow, yet brief, breaths taken at the end of one task before the beginning of another.
We think – and read – a lot about being present in every circumstance. We forget, however, about the moments between circumstances, waving them away in our minds as being of no consequence. Think about how much time we waste in these moments, usually looking down at our phones instead of looking up and around at the beauty that surrounds us.
When you finish reading this, and before you move on to the next thing on your agenda, just breathe and think about the happiness that can be found in this moment, right now. Happy New Year.
This is beautiful! Thank you for sharing your lovely words and wisdom with the world. I am gravitating quickly towards a lovely state of impermanence, in a good way. I don't remember if I heard it on NPR or a TED Talk, but someone said the phrase "abundance without attachment," and it was this incredible life changing moment for me. "Oh, yes. That is exactly what I want in life. I want to experience every moment; feel the beauty, pain, joy, and everything in between and I want to do all of this just as it happens because we only lose what we cling to" I say to myself. Life is about contrast and allowing each moment to hold its own space creates purpose instead of fear. The difference I have learned for myself is that I don't need a happily ever after because I am already there. I don't have to wait anymore.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully spoken! We don't have time to wait. The time is now, as they say. We only have this moment. What has come before is of no consequence and to dwell on what's to come does not provide anything for us; it only steals from us our present reality. As you said to me once "You love hard, and you hurt hard." Is there any other way? (As an aside: "dat contrast") Are we not meant to experience everything as it is happening? How else can we experience abundance? You are an inspiration, my dear.
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ReplyDeleteI only deleted this because it was a duplicate! xo
DeleteWhat now my daughter? To sum up what I think Sam said; be at peace in the here and now being thankful to God for the beauty of life itself, wrapping yourself around the daily experiences and finding joy in them. Remember, YOU already are a success! I love you deeply and am crazy proud of you! And those grandchildren? My arms patiently wait to hold and love on them whenever they arrive to bless your in your future. ☺️❤️
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