Tuesday, July 05, 2011

A Short Note on Happiness

"No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change."
- Barbara de Angelis


Sometimes I wonder if other Moms feel like I do. That being, basically, like I am a different person pretty much every day. Some days I feel on top of the world. Other days I feel like I have completely lost control. Like the Energizer Bunny, going backwards, on another planet, after way too much caffeine.


"Hey dude. Where's the nearest Starbucks?
I need a triple latte and some carrot cake, pronto!"


Sometimes it seems like everything that happens seems to fall gently in to place...kind of like magic...and other days it feels like a very strong wind...make that a tsunami...is blowing against me, vowing not to let me get anything accomplished.

Some days I look in the proverbial mirror and smile at what I see and then others I don't even remotely recognize the person I seem to have become. It is like my life is a giant contradiction...an oxymoron...a paradox. Who the hell am I?

And really, I don't necessarily mean this is all a bad thing. I think maybe, in the past few years, I am really starting to come into my own. I think I am finally starting to have the smile days more often than before. I don;t know whether I have become wiser with age...or finer...like a good wine...or perhaps my brain cells are dying and I am just a little more mellow. Either way, I am starting to think it's a good thing. So why is Martha Stewart still talking in my head like that!?

My kids have taught me a great deal I believe. I know I have said this over and over here but living in the present moment...always trying to come back to that place...that place where my children so happily and easily reside...has certainly led to me feeling more grounded. Reading Eckhart Tolle and the like has also helped. Thanks for the tip Oprah.


It is amazing what you can capture when you just
watch children living in the moment. This one simply says,
"brotherly love."

I think realizing that life keeps going...and mine is getting shorter with each passing moment...really does get you thinking about priorities and what the frick I am really doing here. Is it to work? Make tons of money? Stress myself out on a daily basis a trillion times? I don't think so.

I think it is about things you can't see. About my heart. About my soul. About what I feel and how I show that...and how what I give affects others. My little boys. My husband. My parents. My brothers. My friends. Complete strangers that I come in contact with in one way or another.

I have learned that some cliches are cliches for a reason. You reap what you sow. So true. The more positive energy I radiate, the more it bounces back and makes me feel lighter. Happier.



Happiness.

And really, isn't that the whole point?

Smiles,

Lora




Suggested Reading



I'm Going to be Forty!?!?
Today...Play!




 

6 comments:

  1. It's difficult to define happiness. For some it's making a ton of money. For others it's seeing the joy in their children's eyes. I think happiness for me is the joy of my family and friends. For without them, who am I?

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  2. I enjoyed this post! You speak so honestly about the journey of life. I find it helpful to allow ourselves both the "good" and "bad" days because it is from both that we grow and help our kids to do the same. I'm a huge fan of Eckhart Tolle who puts "happiness" into perspective in an authentic, nonmaterialistic way.

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  3. Hi Jeannette. Thanks for your comment. I don;t think you really can define happiness and I don;t think just one thing brings it. It is all about you and what you decide to do with and react to your life. Ego is key as well. If you have ever read Eckhart Tolle you know what I mean. My family and friends are central to my own happiness as well...but it is how we connect with them that is important. thanks again for your insight! Appreciated!

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  4. Hi Keyuri! Thanks for your support and your comment. I agree with what you say and I am also a big Eckhart tolle fan. i have learned a great deal from his teachings. I am continuing to learn that the bad must come with the good and we should not stuff them away by trying to fill voids with other things like food, drugs, shopping, whatever. And teaching our kids that bad days are a part of life while offering support is key as well. Again, thanks for your thoughtful words! I hope to hear more from you...smiles!

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  5. That's the wisdom that eventually comes to all who experience the delight of children and home.

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  6. Very true Brenda. Might I also add that one does not have to have their own children to know and feel this. I would broaden that to encompass meaningful relationships with all people. Family is what you make it. Thanks for your comment and hope you visit again! :)

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