Happy Where We Are

I wish some things in my life would change. They are preventing me from being happy.

Openings

Openings create change. We often welcome Openings and the change they bring. What about when the possibility of change is nowhere to be seen? Life is where it is. Can we sit with it? Accept where we are? It may be creating an opportunity to look at our life and assess where we are. It may allow us settle in to where we are now.

Openings keep us moving. We are often happy pursuing them, choosing whether to enter them and seeing the positive change they bring to our lives. Can we be happy when they are not around? Even when life is not the way we want it to be? We can. It is up to us.  Even in times of great challenge, there are things that can make us happy. They may be simple things or things we already know are there.

It comes down to perspective. Why would we think that life needs to be exactly the way we want it to be all the time? When life is not what we want it to be, we are more open to change. Discontent can make clear what is not working in our life. It can make us restless and get us into movement and seeing things differently.

The Power of Now

The title of Eckhart Tolle’s seminal book, The Power of Now, has a lot to do with being happy where we are. He tells us that the place to be is in the present moment. It is there where our power is greatest – to guide our lives, access our inner selves, reign in the mind and access our true nature. It is in the now that we can be our best selves.

How do we seek happiness in the now? We bring ourselves fully to the present and look for it. It is there. Too often we live in the past or in the future – how can true happiness dwell there? Right now, let’s look around. What can make us happy that exists in the present? What do we see to be grateful for?  With practice and intention, we can find happiness no matter what the conditions of our lives.