What does it take to be happy?

 

But how can we just be happy?

I think that in a way we are all here on planet earth to realize, that even though we are encouraged, even

programmed, to pursue happiness, we can’t really do anything to make it happen. We can try and control outer life circumstances but so often this does not work.

What we can do is dive deep into the present moment, relax fully into ourselves and happiness will bubble up on its own accord.

Buddha said: “Be a light unto yourself” and he said this because he knew that we have a light shining inside us that we only need to learn to access. When I was younger I did not know this. I though that Buddha saying “Be a light unto yourself” was some kind of bad cosmic joke. Something that I did not have the capacity to do but should be able to do. Therefore I was deficient. It made me more miserable. I did not know that I just had to relax and allow the light to shine through my layers of misery.

To allow this bubbling up of happiness we need to be available for it. That’s really the biggest challenge, but not actually such a big one. So try it today. For 15 minutes, choose thoughts and actions that make you happy, and forgoe thoughts and actions that make you unhappy. Relax, chill, do something fun, do nothing. Allow yourself to see your current life as perfect. Stop striving, stop trying to improve. Just for 15 minutes do whatever it takes to be as content and immersed in well-being as you can. No need for perfection here. Just do the best you can.

Proove to yourself that you have the ability to be happy, at least for a few minutes and if you like the practice, just keep on going.

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