Shortcut to Happiness

I read that statement in a quote recently.  So many of us are searching and waiting for happiness.  Searching for that ideal career, special relationship, goal weight that once found will bring an overwhelming wash of happiness and fulfillment into our lives.

There is nothing wrong with wanting and creating the above.  What we don’t realize though is that in our quest for those ideals, we lose sight of the happiness that is right in front of us already.   Those achievements may be meaningful and important but happiness can and does exist without them.

So today, instead of waiting for happiness to arrive, what if you took a shortcut to happiness and brought it out of your current career, current relationships, and current body?  What if, instead of waiting to be happy someday, we looked for evidence of it’s current existence in our lives as they are today.

Someday can start today!  Someday is right here already!

Choosing Silence

With a Sunday all to myself I chose silence.  What does that mean?  No TV, no radio – just me.   I often have said aloud that I am not really a TV watcher, yet if I really stop and think about it, the TV seems to be on all the time, especially if I am not at my computer.

By force of habit, and sometimes craving noise to fill up quiet space, I turn it on.  While I’m cooking, while I’m eating, while I’m painting…  Yesterday I chose not to.

Instead, while I cooked I focused more on what I was preparing.  While I ate I listened to the birds chirping outside and gazed at the landscape outside my window.   While I painted, I was intent on what I was creating – even experimenting with some new techniques.

It was such a nice day, such a nice feeling to choose silence.  To be comfortable with a solitary focus instead of my usual divided attention.   To me more fully present with where I was and what I was doing.

How often do you choose silence?

Space to Enjoy the Moments

In my constant rush from task to taks, meeting to meeting, I have become vibrantly aware of the need to build space into my usually packed schedule.  These spaces allow me to be more spontaneous (something out of my comfort zone), more present and less frenzied.

Some of that space comes when I am out for the day (since I work from home).  When I am going to be out for a meeting or business event, I often plan to stay out the whole day.  With long breaks between scheduled appointments or activities, it gives me time to linger after a luncheon to cultivate deeper connections with those I only see occasionally.  I have the space to stop at a new coffee shop to spend time writing articles or ideas for this blog.   I have the space to take advantage of a warm sunny day in the middle of winter by sitting outside. 

Slowing my pace and giving myself space brings a sense of peace, freedom and creativity to my life.

What would giving yourself some space do for you?