The Truth About Happiness and How You Can Find It
You can learn to be happy, by being present.
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As I walk through the forest on the path behind my house, I feel the sun against my skin, I see the trees blowing in the wind and the river flowing. I pause to take a deep breath and smell summer in the air.
I stop when I notice a deer run across the path. He turns and looks at me as if he is saying hello and then slowly walks away.
At this moment, I am perfectly happy.
Why is that though?
Is it because of my surroundings, mindset, or maybe the weather?
Happiness is a funny thing. We all want it, yet so few of us understand what it really is, not to mention how to find it.
Today, I will tell you the truth about happiness.
What makes us happy?
When thinking about what makes me happy, I came to an obvious conclusion.
Let me start by giving three examples of when I was completely happy - see if you can spot similarities.
Scenario 1:
I’m driving my car, and the sun is shining so beautifully that I can feel the warmth against my skin. The windows are down and I can feel the breeze. My favourite song is playing and as I drive I can feel the road as if it’s part of me.
Scenario 2:
As I play games with my friends and have engaging intellectual conversations, I realize that I’m very happy. I’m around loved ones, doing fun activities, and challenging myself. Everything I want is here.
Scenario 3:
I finally finished the project I’ve been working on for weeks, and it has paid off. In my hands, I have a check to deposit and realize life is going to be great. I have nothing to worry about.
It’s all about the now.
What all of these scenarios have in common, is that whatever was happening, brought me to the now.
I am truly present at this moment.
As I drive my car, I’m not worried about what bills I have to pay, or what I have to do tomorrow. All I’m thinking about is the breeze, the sun, and how I feel.
When I’m playing games with my friends, I’m not stuck thinking about how my ex-girlfriend lied was oddly rude to my family - all I’m thinking about is what card I should play next and why.
The check I am holding in my hands after a few weeks of hard work gives me a feeling of excitement. It’s that feeling in this very moment that is making me happy.
All of these situations, made me only think about the moment.
I am here, now, and happy.
How can we practice being in the moment?
After this question, you might ask,
“How can we be present as often as possible?”
It’s not easy. Life comes at us time and time again.
We have bills to pay, deadlines to meet, and bad things that happen over and over again.
That’s life though. Life has ups and downs. And we need the bad, to know what the good is.
The past has already happened, and we can control our outcome, only our present output. The point is to focus on the present moment as much as possible.
And the best way to learn to do that is by practicing mindfulness, but more specifically, meditation.
Meditation is a technique used to develop an awareness of yourself and the moment. This is a practice that has been used for thousands of years and it is just as necessary now as ever.
In fact, I would argue even more necessary.
Life distracts us. Life makes us lose focus. Life makes us forget was is important, and what is making us happy.
Meditation helps bring you back.
You should meditate every morning and night. That way you start your day off right, and end it off even better.
This will allow you to bring yourself back, refocus, and continue on with your day in a state of bliss.
Meditation is the key to being present.
Being present is the key to happiness.
A simple meditation to practice.
In all of my blog posts, I’m always telling you to meditate, yet I haven’t explained how yet.
That changes now.
I will give you a simple meditation practice you can do to help bring you back to the present.
It’s easy and it’s quick.
Sit down on a couch, chair, or ground, or even just lay down in your bed. Just find somewhere comfy where you are not thinking about how uncomfortable you are or how sore your knees are.
Now, slowly start to breathe in through your nose.
Feel the breath tickle upwards, and then down your throat, and into your lungs.
Next, exhale slowly through your mouth. This should feel more like letting go of your breath, than pushing out.
Repeat this for 5 minutes and the entire time just focus on feeling your breath.
There it is. That’s the most simple form of meditation.
If you do this for long enough, you will forget what happened earlier and what you want to happen and then, be brought back to the present. You will forget about your body, and perhaps, even your mind.
All that there is, is your breath.
While this can be done no matter what noises are around you, but feel free to wear earplugs if you are easily distracted.
The more you practice, the less exterior (and interior) noise will matter.
All the noise will become a blur, along with your thoughts. This is why people say that you need to stop thinking to meditate.
But don’t worry about forgetting your thoughts just yet. That will just discourage you when you start trying to meditate.
Conclusion
Happiness comes from being present in the moment, and you can help yourself be present more often by practicing to meditate.
If you really don’t want to meditate, practice being present by paying attention to what’s around you, by being completely aware.
Through this practice, you will realize that what makes you happy is not necessarily the activity you are doing or the people you’re with, it’s the fact that you are no longer thinking about the past or the future.
You are present. You are in the now, and you are happy.
Thanks for reading
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