Happiness… Is it something to be achieved?
Is it a state of being? Is it something that is lasting or is it a fleeting emotion? Once we get it, can we keep it and if so, how?
When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life.
They say success and happiness go hand-in-hand. It seems pretty simple… Until you go a step further to identify what success actually means to you. There is a place where success and happiness intersect and there was a study done on people who were classified as happy and successful. They had three things in common.
First of all, they made their decision and followed their passion independent of the opinions of others. Secondly, they did things because they felt an intrinsic urge and passion to do it. Lastly, their actions were detached from an outcome, they were using their energy to do something that they believed in doing, regardless of the outcome. Whether they ever reach their goal or not, they walk their path with integrity.
To sum these things up, I call it living from the heart and living with integrity. These people are connected to themselves and therefore they’re connected to source. Because of this, they are happy and successful, which could really be one in the same.
Connecting with Source is actually the most simple thing we can do. Source lives inside everything that’s alive and all we have to do is slow down and breathe that sweet energy in. Today’s hustle and bustle of life makes it really easy to forget that we are all one. The media floods our brains with fear and divisive thoughts.
After all, when you have people fighting amongst themselves, they are rather easy to control. I think the most revolutionary act towards peace, happiness and success is to come together as One and to live in a way that honors our life, the lives of others and the life of our environment. So how can we get there?
If you are sad, it’s good to get out of your own head with your own wants and desires. When you want more for others than you want for yourself and you are willing to do things that bring joy, hope and healing to others, you start to elevate your consciousness.
When we take the focus off our own needs, the world begins to open up to us. Always remember, we don’t attract what we want in life, we attract what we are. What we put out into the Universe is what will come back to us. When we spread love, love comes back from all directions.
Another important factor in our happiness is how much we can allow ourselves to remain in a state of gratitude.
How much do we appreciate what we have in our lives?
When we truly value what we have, we fill our bodies with thoughts that attract abundance. Of course, we all have things that we struggle with at times in our lives and things that are painful… But that’s life. We take the good with the bad.
We can stay grateful for everything we have and trust the process of our lives then we will get through the pain without prolonged suffering. One way to stay in the state of gratitude is to make sure that we meditate in order to stay connected.
We are more than just this mind and body. Our mind and body are our tools that allow us to fully experience this life school. Heaven and hell are right here on earth and it depends on our state of mind and our perception.
I always visualize how my ideal life would look. I picture living in abundance and I picture being able to have a lasting impact on the world. To me, happiness doesn’t happen for one person unless the whole of our brothers and sisters needs are also met.
So, I call strangers “sisters and brothers” and I think about their feelings. I treat them with compassion and I remember the way I acted in times that I was not living in alignment with my higher self.
By watching out for each other, we connect more and more to the source. We can grow our trust in the process of life by observing the fascinating world of nature and seeing that everything has its time and place, we can grow our trust in a greater plan for our lives. When we trust source, we can flow on the path of least resistance.
Through these realizations and disciplines state of mind, we can live in the Flow and know that we are meant to thrive.
-Rachel
