Happiness-Is it Attainable?

Tuesday February 1, 2011

Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
I saw the article below a bit back & was going to share it anyway BUT after an Oprah show last week on HAPPINESS, I had to share some of that too! The previous link will take you to "the happiness quiz" from that Oprah show. I realize happiness is an individual thing but it is interesting to see the questions & how you compare to others, percentage wise.

Goldie Hawn was art of this show & was saying how just sitting 10 minutes per day doing NOTHING - quiet time thinking of nothing & just being within yourself, can make you happier. I guess it is sort of like meditating but she is quick to say that not everyone gets that & it is something we can work up to.. like start with a minute or 2 & work to 10 & then 20 if you can. I know many that do this & swear by it! I might have to try.. I am like Karen (3rd to last paragraph in her post but read the whole thing! I loved the title!) in that my mind does not go blank & is always thinking of something BUT maybe with practice!

Also part of the show, if you asked people were they happier buying a material item versus "an experience" like travel or a family outing somewhere, the experience made people happier a majority of the time over buying material things!

AND, supposedly the place with the happiest people here in the U.S. is right here in California, a beautiful place up the coast from me called San Luis Obispo!

So, just as happiness is unique to each of us, I am betting we have similarities too!
Maybe the article below will hit home & help those struggling with "being happy" OR just reinforce things for those that already say they are happy beyond happy!

Don't Worry, Be Happy

If we want to be happy then why do we suffer? In one of our workshops we asked the participants to raise their hands if they wanted to suffer. No one did. So why do we?

“We are all the same in wanting to be happy and not wanting to suffer, there is no difference between us, so we can help each other. When we can live from this deeper level of awareness, it helps us go beyond attachment to immediate forms of happiness and to finding a more universal happiness.” –His Holiness the Karmapa.

Despite such a longing for happiness, we easily start worrying about not having enough and stop appreciating what we have. In other words, we put happiness on hold. We make happiness something we will come to some time in the future: when things are better, when our children get married, when the weather changes, when we have more money—then we will be happy. So much time is wasted waiting to be happy, when all we need to do is experience the magnificence and beauty of what we already have, both within and all around us. Or, as Maha Baba, one of India’s greatest yogi’s, said “Don’t worry, be happy!”

It is our ego-based selfishness and desire for things to be different from how they are that is a major cause of our unhappiness. By this, we mean the dissatisfaction with what is and the belief that says if we are not happy or at peace, then there is something wrong with our world, so if we can just change other people or our life’s circumstances and get them to be a certain way—then we will be happy.

If we look at our desire for things to be different, no matter how subtle it may be, we find resistance, discomfort, aversion, even conflict. The myth that the grass is greener elsewhere is one we live by for vast amounts of our waking time—the underlying searching, yearning, craving, and longing for a life, partner, and job other than the one we have.

“We can make it a saner and happier world if we just slowed down and had less focus on wanting or needing more stuff. If stuff made you happy, there would be nothing but happy people living in Bel Air and unhappy people living in Fiji where they have nothing, but I have been to Fiji and there are plenty of happy people there. I have never seen a hearse with a luggage rack on top. We have got to get away from stuff and appreciate what is here.” –Ed Begley, Jr.

Many of us believe that we cannot be peaceful or happy while others are suffering, or we feel guilty if we experience abundance while others are going without. We were teaching a workshop in England when Marie told us, “I cannot be peaceful until my children are peaceful; I cannot be happy unless they are happy.” But suffering ourselves because others are suffering does not help those who are already in pain; if we cannot help ourselves, then we will be unable to help anyone.

When we find our own peace, then there is one less person suffering. If we look for happiness outside of ourselves, or look for it some time in the future when things have changed, then we will never find it, for ultimately it is not dependent on anything or anyone. Rather, happiness is within each one of us; it is always within us. It can never be found because it was never lost.

There is an innate and tender place inside each one of us that is loving and happy. Without this, kindness would not be possible, compassion would not be possible. When we come from that tender place, our normal self-centeredness dissolves into other-centeredness.

What does happiness mean to you? What makes you happy & how do you help others that say they are not happy? What is your pic? Experience or material "thing" for happiness?

Posted by truth2beingfit at 1/31/2011 9:53 PM
Categories: Motivation/Support, Life, Awareness, Inspiration, Inspirational Quotes, Health, Life Experiences, Happiness, Wellness
Tags: acceptance awareness balance choices defining you expectations Happiness health inspiration life experiences Oprah thankful motivation
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  • 1/31/2011 10:26 PM FatFighterTV wrote:
    I need to try to sit still and meditate for 10 minutes a day - you definitely have to build up to it. I used to do it all the time but have gotten away from it. It makes such a difference.

    To me, happiness is love and the comfort it brings.
    Reply to this
    1. 2/1/2011 5:32 PM truth2beingfit wrote:
      Sahar, you & others have said how this sitting & meditating is a huge help for them!
      Reply to this
  • 1/31/2011 11:53 PM Sunny wrote:
    Happiness is just finding as much peace as possible. From going inside to wanting those I care most about to be as happy and at peace as they, too, can be. It's nigh on impossible for me to be happy alone.
    Reply to this
  • 2/1/2011 3:09 AM Joob wrote:
    I try to sit and do nothing but concentrate on my breathing for 10 min before work every day... I don't always get to it but it is definitely peaceful and helps maintain my sanity.
    Reply to this
    1. 2/1/2011 5:33 PM truth2beingfit wrote:
      Joob, that is a great way to start the day!
      Reply to this
  • 2/1/2011 4:20 AM Miz wrote:
    to me it is living in the zaniness of the world and yet being able to find and stay in my sliver of peace and calm.
    Reply to this
    1. 2/1/2011 11:39 AM truth2beingfit wrote:
      A challenge at times but a great thing to be able to do it! I think my focus when lifting weights takes me to "zen"..

      Reply to this
  • 2/1/2011 7:38 AM Karen wrote:
    Thanks for the shout out! Glad you decided to write about this. I struggle when I think about happiness and what it really means. I have shared on my blog that I consider myself "content" but not happy. I am not UNhappy, either. I think in my mind, happiness is an overwhelming feeling that bubbles up inside us. I have moments of that. Of joy. Maybe I am wrong to think that I am not happy if I am not feeling that all the time.
    Reply to this
    1. 2/1/2011 5:36 PM truth2beingfit wrote:
      Karen, I think we are always comparing ourselves to others & their feeling of what ir right & wrong.. nothing says you are not living what is right for you!
      Reply to this
  • 2/1/2011 8:18 AM Dr. J wrote:
    Lots to think about here, or maybe not...
    Reply to this
    1. 2/1/2011 5:37 PM truth2beingfit wrote:
      Dr. J, loved this follow up from you!

      Happiness is Focusing on what you do have and not on what you don't have. But that's really how to be happy.


      Reply to this
  • 2/1/2011 8:30 AM Cammy-TippyToeDiet wrote:
    I'm happy! I've written before about my "15 minutes of doing nothing" every day, and I've found it to very helpful--not so much in creating happiness but in helping to weed out the stuff that gets in the way of it.
    Reply to this
    1. 2/1/2011 5:38 PM truth2beingfit wrote:
      Cammy, as usual, I love this comment!
      Reply to this
  • 2/1/2011 8:48 AM sian wrote:
    Happiness...such a huge subject! Health for sure is a huge one. I saw that oprah show and found it very interesting...
    Reply to this
    1. 2/1/2011 5:38 PM truth2beingfit wrote:
      Sian, our health does help, doesn't it!
      Reply to this
  • 2/1/2011 9:08 AM Rachael wrote:
    I have experienced a lot in my life and have learned that living in today is what makes me happy. I am a generally positive happy person but as with anyone I do fall into sadness at times. When this happens I make it a point to "get out of myself" and do something for someone else. I think I do this in place of sitting within myself, I have tried this and can't stand silence so it makes me more stressed LOL! Anyway enough from me. I love your topics and look forward to more.
    Reply to this
    1. 2/1/2011 5:39 PM truth2beingfit wrote:
      Rachel, you have gone thru a lot! I like that idea of helping others!
      Reply to this
  • 2/1/2011 9:16 AM Patrick wrote:
    Have Fun... I am purposely chanting Have Fun often in my posts. This parallels Be Happy for the most part. We have to enjoy what we are doing for reasons of self, not stuff.
    Reply to this
    1. 2/1/2011 5:40 PM truth2beingfit wrote:
      Patrick.. you have said it right.. we need to have more fun & enjoy what we are doing.... search it out if we have to!
      Reply to this

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