Anne Marie Bennett (SoulCollage Mentor, Artist/Coach and author and cancer survivor ) has asked her friends to list one thing for which we are "happy" on a daily basis. This means to me that each day will bring us at least one moment of happiness for which we should be formally giving thanks and since I am Canadian and my official state holiday called, "Thanksgiving" comes in October, I could just ignore that. But -- you guessed it -- I am not going to.
I think that I could list daily another thing which fills my heart and soul with delight for the rest of my life and not even touch the tip of the iceberg called goodness in my life. But even so, it is not the quantity of things, but the quality of happiness and goodness that I want to stress.
We have come to believe that we should, nay deserve, to be happy -- ALL the time. But happiness is fleeting. There are moments and moments and moments of happiness for which we can be thankful. And yet...and yet.
We might also consider being happy or content or mindful of each one OR...
We can just be mindful that we are here now without judgment or comparative evaluation of this moment.
Shadows can bring to mind a deep joy...
or they can be quite scary and mysterious.
Especially when we consider our own shadow sides.
When my children were little, I so enjoyed playing with them, watching them grow, hearing their wonderful ideas, but they grew up and frankly what they choose to do sometimes disappoints me. To be completely honest what they did as small children often disappointed me. Does that mean that they no longer bring me a smile or a warm feeling of "happiness?" Certainly, you know the answer to that. And it isn't some simple thing like the fact that I love them, because some days I don't know how I would explain what it is I feel for them.
Feelings are so ephemeral and subjective, often hard to pin down and name.
How often do we complain that our day off is "miserable" because it is raining, or too cool, or too hot, or whatever. When right down the road from us some farmer who feeds us is praying for rain so that s/he doesn't lose a whole crop, or someone who has no refrigeration is praying for cooler weather so that her/his stock won't die, or someone with small children is dearly hoping for a day hot enough to take them to the local swimming hole? You see, it's all rooted in where you sit.
Now in this photo, the rust intrigued me. Being there was a particularly happy moment.But when I see a rust spot on my car (and there are far too many) somehow it isn't the same. So I can't say that rust in and of itself brings me happiness. Even sunshine doesn't always bring happiness...just ask those who suffer from migraine headaches. So how do we list what makes us happy? Or can we really put it into words...if so, it will definitely take more than 2 or 3, methinks.
So, please think on what makes you happy...and then just be happy because you know what has made you happy and perhaps you will be mindful of that moment once again.
Peace be.
