Happiness

Happiness and being happy is the one main purpose of my life. This might sound self centered but in actual fact it's quite the opposite. If as a person your level of happiness is high it has a remarkable effect on the way you see the world and the way you interact with the world and the people in it. Everyone wants to find their life purpose and it took me a long time to figure out mine. This might not sound like much but to me it's my primary focus and makes perfect sense.

Of course I'm not talking about being happy and bouncy 24/7 I think that is a rariety that you only see in the very awakened. I'm talking here of a baseline happiness, a happiness that never really leaves you despite what might get thrown at you in your life situation. A background happiness.

So how do you achieve happiness?

Personally I've found to achieve a level of happiness that stays with me, throughout my day to day life, takes practice and commitment. I use a combination of exercise, reflection and meditation. I count my blessings daily and give thanks for the people in my life and the beauty in the world. I try to understand the impermanence of all things and live within the present moment. I guess everyone could have different ways of achieving happiness but these are some of the things that work for me.

Happiness Vs Joy

I've travelled the world far and wide and one constant I've noticed is the less people have, the happier they appear to be. There seems to be a direct correlation between material wealth and people's level of happiness. I believe material possesions and wealth can bring pleasure, but pleasures are always short lived and not a foundation to build your happiness upon.

These two pictures I took in Laos, South-East Asia. Laos is the most bombed country per capita, in the world. These two pictures are of warheads, bombs, grenades and other weaponry left over from the Vietnam conflict. They have all been recovered by locals many of which have been maimed because of them. In Laos you're literally taking your life into your hands going off for a walk in the countryside. Despite this, and the abject poverty I witnessed there, I found the people of Laos to be amongst the happiest people I've ever come across, it's almost as if there is something in the air, some kind of happy gas. 

Spending time in Laos got me thinking about how can people be so happy when they've got so little and been through so much?

I'm not going to answer that question now as I could write a whole essay on the subject. What I am going to say is that what I witnessed there was living proof that money and material gain don't bring you happiness. Happiness comes from within and cannot be controlled by outside factors. Sure outside factors and problems come and go but true, real happiness comes from within and projects outwards and never leaves you despite your life situation. 

How many times do we see people who appear to 'have it all' confess of their unhappiness. Lottery winners are prime examples, as are celebrities and powerful business types. People seem to be so busy concentrating on the outside gains that they forget to take care of the inside which is what really matters. If your life is strictly for the purpose of material gain then where does it stop? The ego will always want more and more, always looking to be satisfied and fulfilled through outside influences. When it doesn't get satisfied upset and unhappiness ensue. For these reasons about a couple of years ago and after suffering from bad panic attacks I stopped looking outwardly for happiness which is something i'd always done. Instead I turned my attention inwards and through spiritual teachings and meditation I was able to find a baseline level of happiness which is always there no matter what the world throws at me. I'm not saying I've cracked the key to being happy 100% of the time. What I do know is I'm much happier now working from the inside than I was 2 years ago working on the outside.

Below is a selection of some happy faces I've come across on my travels :-)

JN

I swear we were infinite

I've recently finished reading a book by Stephen Chbosky titled 'The perks of being a wallflower'. There is one scene that really stuck out for me which describes three friends driving along after attending a dance.

"After the dance, we left in Sam's pickup. Patrick was driving this time. As we were approaching the Fort Pitt Tunnel, Sam asked Patrick to pull to the side of the road. I didn't know what was going on. Sam then climbed in the back of the pickup, wearing nothing but her dance dress. She told Patrick to drive, and he got this smile on his face. I guess they had done this before.

Anyway, Patrick started driving really fast, and just before we got to the tunnel, Sam stood up, and the wind turned her dress into ocean waves. When we hit the tunnel, all the sound got scooped up into a vacuum, and it was replaced by a song on the tape player. A beautiful song called "Landslide." When we got out of the tunnel, Sam screamed this really funny scream, and there it was. Downtown. Lights on buildings and everything that makes you wonder. Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing.
And in that moment, I swear we were infinite".

The reason this scene spoke to me so much is that i feel it is important to do something each day that gives you that feeling of being infinite.
My interpretation of this is doing something out of the ordinary. Something that gives you that beautiful feeling of oneness with your environment, everything contained in your environment and the universe.
This may sound a little daunting but in practice this is a really easy process. Below are some of my favourite activities that you could try for yourself or maybe they will inspire you to come up with some of your own.

• Cycling through the empty streets in the middle of the night.
• Jumping into a body of water.
• Open water swimming i.e not in a swimming pool. (always with someone else!)
• Saying a meaningful hello to a stranger.
• Running through the environment whether it be town centres or fields.
• Random acts of kindness/love.
• Stopping, taking deep breaths and submerging your consciousness in your present environment.
• A random silly dance to one of your favourite songs. (The sillier, the better)
• Standing naked in the rain (or underpants if needs be)

These are just a few ideas. I guess the most important thing to do in any of these situations is to be present and enjoy the moment and your life to it's fullest, even if it's just for a few seconds at that point in time.

JN