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On...
Happiness As A Choice
Children
don’t obey the laws of time like adults do. Children want everything
now. Happiness is only to be found in the present moment. And that makes
sense because that is where they are focused. They don’t live in the
past and they don’t relate to the future. They want love now. They want
desires fulfilled now. They want their senses gratified now.
Consequences are not yet learned.
As we
grow up we often learn that the present doesn’t fully exist for our
happiness and there is much to fear in the present. We then cut
ourselves off from the treasure that only exists in the present. We need
to learn how to juggle considerations of the past and future with being
in the present, which is the only place that happiness can be
experienced.
Every
experience of past or future takes us out of ourselves into events and
possibilities, into time and limitation. It is only in the present where
the eternal now, the sacredness of life, can be experienced, because in
the now we go inward to the eternal self that we are, and from that
state we experience the freedom from time and limitation. Now is a time
word, but it implies timelessness. Only as soul beings experiencing
‘circumstance’ and ‘other’ can we step into the freedom of the beauty
and goodness of each encounter. We are then liberated from judgement,
resistance and fear, and we experience happiness.
Because
now is timeless and infinite we do not depend upon outside things,
people and circumstances to make us happy. When we do, then we know we
are not in the now and we can be assured that we will be disappointed.
When we are not in the now we do not touch the soul of what we encounter
because we are not experiencing from the soul within ourselves.
The
potential for joy or happiness (essentially the same reality) is a
constant potential within ourselves. We take it everywhere. But we are
deluded if we think that others or situations must activate it for us to
experience it. We are the only ones capable of activating it, and we can
do so whenever we choose to do so. If we prefer fear or worry or
conditioning over happiness then we will implicitly choose not to
activate it.
What we
focus on becomes familiar, and what is familiar becomes our standard for
what is real. The news media portrays the world as a place in which
disasters occur all the time, killing is normal, and we have much to
fear from our fellow human beings. Psychology too often teaches us that
human beings are not meant to be joyful but are essentially neurotic or
ill creatures.
Religion
frequently emphasizes the evil side of life and human sinfulness. Is
this your world? Is this what controls your thinking and actions? Or can
you rise above these perceptions that are portrayed by unhappy, fearful
people? Can you accept that you are created whole and can experience
happiness despite the circumstances in which you find yourself? Can you
choose the freedom to be your own authentic self with a mission of love
to act out through relationships?
As soul
beings we are free, happy and at peace. None of these states depend upon
external realities. They are part of our nature. Experiencing ourselves
as such is a choice we can make every moment that we are conscious. When
we experience anything from identification with our ego, then we believe
our happiness, freedom and peace of mind are dependent on external
reality.
No one
who sees Michelangelo’s David or his unfinished slaves in the Uffizi in
Florence can fail to feel awe. When asked how he creates such beautiful
sculptures he replied: “The beauty is already there… I do not create
beauty; God creates beauty. I merely chip away the surrounding marble so
as to reveal the beauty. The beauty is already within. It is already
perfectly in place.”
And so it
is within you and within everyone! This is the foundation of happiness.
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Exercises:
Make a ritual of meditating on a regular basis – anything
from 10 minutes to an hour. If it is short you are more likely
to do it. What is important about meditation is that it connects
you to soul – at least that is what you ought to be doing. So it
is more than relaxation, although you need to relax before you
can meditate. The content of meditation can be whatever makes
you happy and gives you peace of mind. This must be something
elevating or noble that calms, inspires and makes you feel more
at home in your own life. When you take a longer time to
practice meditation over a period of time, you can more easily
then slip into the connection with soul at will whenever you
want and wherever you are without using a lengthy process. |
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This is one of 150 Soul Perspective articles.
For more articles visit
Soul Perspectives
Index.
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