If there is one piece of wisdom I have learned from all my thinking, living, reading, and learning over the many years since my happiness obsession began (not the blog, but the clearly-stated desire within me to be happy, plus the recognition that I had badly strayed from my own happiness), it is this: happiness means feeling good with a clear mind while enjoying the present moment.
I mean, you can wrap it up any way you like, but if you are present and enjoying yourself in here and now, what is happiness if not this?
I have experienced plenty of the opposite. There really is nothing quite so nice as simply enjoying oneself each day 🙂
How many people try to escape the present moment? How many people aren’t happy with themselves, don’t want to be alone with themselves, or simply just don’t feel good from moment to moment?
Certainly, all of us will have moments that don’t feel that way. It doesn’t mean we are not happy in general! Regarding those not-so-pleasant moments of “contrast,” is it possible that even those are moments designed to give us a greater level of clarity, or some other such feedback that can ultimately bring us greater happiness in the present moment?
Is it possible that even the unhappiness can serve our happiness?
When I think of experiences I had that I would describe as unhappy, ultimately I learned valuable lessons from them about who I am, about honesty, about being authentic, and about creating the life I want to live. From these experiences, in the end I came away happier, liking myself and my choices more, and living a life that I enjoy.
The unhappiness ultimately gave greater value and meaning to the happiness. And the ultimate value was in realizing that I simply wanted to enjoy who I am being each day. I wanted to like my life. I wanted to like me. This wish for present-moment fulfillment and satisfaction has been a guiding light for me, and probably factored big in every big choice I have made in the last twenty years. Even the faulty choices, the ones that seemed to be “mistakes,” or ordeals, made me more consciously aware that I wanted to be happy in the moment! Because I wasn’t happy during those experiences, when I finally ended them, a rush of joy and appreciation usually followed.
Happiness is a Present Moment thing, to be enjoyed in the here and now 🙂
