HAPPINESS
A CHOICE OR JUST CHANCE
I have been thinking about happiness and what it means quite a lot lately and have had some very interesting conversations around this topic.
Happiness is such a beautiful and yet often complicated state. One question I asked was if happiness is something that can be contagious.
I personally believe it can be highly contagious!
Strangely enough there are so many people out there that do everything and even go out of their way to not be infected with happiness and even seem to prefer being miserable. They often manage to put up a really hard fight to even avoid happiness or they make their happiness dependent on others.
“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
Why is it so hard for some people to find and embrace happiness?
From a very early age we are often conditioned to function and to be afraid of so many things. Depending on what type of person you are, this can follow you around throughout your entire life. It is so very easy to impose fear in these people. But fear never is or has been a good advisor - which has become even clearer in the past two years. We are told from an early age what we must NOT do. Strangely, we are taught much less about what we are allowed to do or even should do – for example, to be happy, to choose happiness in our life!
We are told time and again that life is hard and unforgiving, a struggle and full of difficulties. We even hear that we have to work hard to earn love and happiness - I know because that is how I was raised and it is so very hard to overcome these beliefs. I truly believe though, and it is something that took me a very long time to learn, that we can actually choose to be HAPPY and not leave it to chance! I also believe that we deserve to be loved and to be happy and infect others with this happiness - simply because we CAN.
“Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” — Helen Keller
Unfortunately, it holds true that we hold on to negative feelings much more than to positive ones - and longer as well. The positive emotions such as happiness and love seem to be so much more fleeting than fear, anger, sadness, hatred, dissatisfaction, etc. -silly us!
Yet positive emotions can be so contagious. You have probably experienced it when you hear children playing and laughing that you can’t help but laugh or at least smile yourself. The happiness and joy of others is contagious and it doesn’t even hurt. Once you get the knack of it, of choosing to be happy and to let the good things into your life, they come to stay - for the most part.
“There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.” — George Sand
Happiness is not a constant state that we are in. It is more those small moments of happiness that we enjoy and that we long for. It’s also not always about this overwhelming happiness (yet it can and should be sometimes, like the birth of a child), sometimes it is about the little joys or just even a certain contentment that we feel when we are at ease and at peace with ourselves and others. Most of us are tuned in to focus on the negative and the bad things around us (not really surprising if you consider the constant bombardment of negativity 24/7 through the media), turning a blind eye to the beautiful moments and letting them pass us by without noticing, truly experiencing and savouring them.
“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” — Omar Khayyam
Of course I realise that in theory, as always, it sounds so very simple and even quite logical. Those are things that deep in our heart we know, but we don’t practice them or have simply forgotten how to consciously choose and experience them. One of the reasons may be that we simply do not make them conscious. Often we just don’t even think about it or make it a priority.
How about, maybe just for one day, try and start noticing the good things, the positive things, the joy around you, the happiness around you without envy or jealousy, but just noticing them and letting yourself be infected with these positive and beautiful feelings and not with all the negativity that goes on around us. I’m not delusional I know that this is not possible all the time and maybe not every day. But if you remember this once in a while and even if just thinking about it puts a smile on your face I believe it may definitely be going in the right direction.
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” — Mahatma Gandhi
Do you believe that happiness can be contagious? Is happiness a choice? What makes you happy? When was the last time you were truly happy? As always I would love to hear from you.
“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one come to you without leaving happier.” —Mother Theresa
🎶My Song of the Week
Is just a happy song…
📚My Poem of the Week
Robert Louis Stevenson, ‘Happy Thought’ from „A Child’s Garden of Verses (1885)“ is only two lines long, and just shows that sometimes it is so simple that it doesn’t need many words…
Happy Thought
The world is so full of a number of things,
I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.
👀Impressions
This is a place that, for me, is associated with one of the most perfect moments of my life and thus evokes an irrevocable feeling of true bliss and happiness!
If you would like to connect with me, find out more about the Enneagram and yourself, how it can transform you and your life, I would be happy to take the time for a speed coaching call that you can reserve right here , go to my website or simply hit reply and get in touch with me directly.
Wishing you a happy weekend and perhaps you can seroiusly infect someone with HAPPINESS!
Yours
Tanja 🤗