Happiness~ doesn't happen on accident, but it is free and abundant!!

Happiness~ doesn't happen on accident, but it is free and abundant!! "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions." ~ Dalai Lama

"Happiness depends upon ourselves." ~ Aristotle

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

"Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so." ~ Robert Green Ingersoll

"Happiness is a continuation of happenings which are not resisted." ~ Deepak Chopra

All that lives wants to be happy and free from all suffering. Most of us spend our time pursuing happiness in the form of material gain, or future experience, or in other people, or as if happiness is a solid state you get to and never change again.... and happiness is not lasting in these ways..

This month I invite you to explore happiness in all forms, and what gives you the most lasting and full bliss in your experience. Happiness is the birthright of all beings, but we have free will, so we can choose to be negative and unappreciative and fight our reality and thus experience misery. Or we can cultivate happiness. Like a garden, happiness takes conscious planting.. of positive thinking patterns, of self-control to avoid actions that block us from feeling well and loving, of taking every opportunity to be kind and compassionate to others, of disposing of the prison of self-consciousness that restricts us from fully embracing life in all our thoughts, words and actions in each present moment... because do you realize, true happiness is available in each moment, but it is only HERE, in the present moment, that happiness lives. Practicing being present is the biggest and most powerful way to cultivate true, expansive happiness.

Someone else's happiness or goodness shouldn't make you feel threatened, jealous, or miserable... happiness isn't limited, it is an infinite and renewable resource within us all. See other's goodness and beauty as an inspiration to be your happiest, more creative, most alive self!

If you feel depressed or unhappy, take the opportunity that next arises to do something generous, kind, above-and-beyond for another, be they family, friend, neighbor, or stranger. Or small simple acts of kindness will brighten your day and that of the recipient.. hold a door, make eye contact and smile, tell someone when you think something good about them, help someone pick up what they have dropped or carry something heavy. Happiness is best shared, when we give we get. Giving of ourselves is a sure way to increase our happiness.

Don't feel foolish for looking for the bright side, for focusing on gratitude and not what you don't have, for appreciating the little sacred and incredibly blissful moments and experiences in life.... feel like a fool for not doing these things. This is your life happening one moment at a time.. do you choose to revel in the playful sacredness in your own way, or watch others have fun from the sidelines while you judge and complain in the darkness of your own mind?

Practice being present.. feeling your breath, body, and the world around you tickle your senses. Take in the "good" and the "bad" and the "neutral" with the same open attention and positive intention. See the good in yourself, in life, in others. Be compassionate. Cut loose in natural and creative ways, express your inner light. Move your body, rest your body, take good care of your body. And use it to pay forward the goodness and joy you experience or wish to experience. I hope this sparks your inner knowing and helps you to be happier and more free.

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