The Pursuit Of Happiness
Ends Here
The pursuit of happiness is instictive for most human beings. That is not surprising because happiness is our normal condition.
It is unnatural to suffer and our feelings tells us this so that we can do something about it. True happiness is a product of finding how to be at one with the inner self.
Why Unhappy
Unhappiness is an ego-created mental-emotional disease that has reached epidemic proportions. I think a better description for unhappiness should be: self-ignorance. It is your ignorance of who you truly are that causes unhappiness.
The pursuit of happiness requires that you discover who you truly are; you comprehend fully the purpose of life and you realise that there are universal laws at work.
Usually you are so focused on the pursuit of happiness that you do not even see or suspect trouble is coming until it suddenly leaps upon you like a concealed predator. One day your life feels complete and happy. The next, you can't even remember being happy.
Yet, all the time your feelings are telling you, moment by moment, whether what you doing or focusing on resonates with the real you or not. You need to learn how to read your feelings.
Why You Stay Unhappy
You stay unhappy because to be truly happy requires something outside your current way of thinking. It requires a way of looking at life that is very different from what you have been used. This new way of thinking, or lack of, is easier said than done. But it can be done!!!
How To Find Happiness
Pursuit of happiness without first finding the authentic you and realising why you are here in the first place is like walking through a dark room full of furniture and trying to get to other side of room. In the darkness, your progress will be slow, painful, a lot bruises and half way you may even lose your orienation.
On the other hand, when
know who you are
and
your reason for existing
. it is like a light has been turned on. You can make the same journey, but you will do with more vision and less pain because you will see how to avoid bringing pain to yourself.
More Than Knowledge Is Needed
If you an intellectual sort of person, you will probably think you can just read a few books and your pursuit of happiness will then end. After all, you now know what to do. RIght?!!! Wrong!!!
The pursuit of happiness requires that you first accept that your mind-defined-you is just a very small expression the real you. The real you has practically unlimited power and wisdom.
The extent to which you can tap into this power is in direct proportion to the effort you put into self-realisation. Thus the beam of light that shows the path to happiness is ignited from within.
The Decision Is Yours
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” - Abraham Lincoln
What I like about Abraham Lincoln’s quote is the fact it talks about making up your mind ‘to be’ happy. So rather than a pursuit of happiness, it is rather a decision for happiness.
Don’t seek it, just decide on ‘not being unhappy’ by facing what happening YOUR current situation.
Although every human being wants to be happy, most aren't because of what I call 'background unhappiness'. This manifests itself through impatience, irritation, nervousness and a general feeling of being “fed up”.
If those who 'know' you describe you using any of the above words, then you need to take note. This is because you can be so identified with background happiness that you cannot stand back and recognise it.
Become alert to background or low level unhappiness. Be aware of thoughts that try to justify your unhappiness but in reality are causing it. When you start being aware of these negative thoughts, it is a sign that you are starting to succeed.
Don't Pretend To Be Happy
Sometimes you see on the news about family members who can not believe their loved one has decided to take their own life. It is not uncommon for them admit that they didn't see it coming because the person looked 'so happy', 'had so much to live for' and so on.
The thing is, most people pretend to be happy when they are not. Some can't accept that there is no pursuit of happiness.
Happiness As A Role
“Good to see you, how are you?” “Great, couldn’t be better.” What!! Are you kidding? How many times have you played the role of being happy when you are not?
Why did you feel you needed to? 'Well, it is what people expect.' I know that most of us just feel uncomfortable telling others how we are truly feeling. The result?
Well, when unhappiness is covered up or even denied, depression, breakdowns and overreactions are common manifestations.
Denial, especially to yourself, will only lead to more unhappiness. What you need to do is first acknowledge that you are unhappy.
Then try to get to the root of the reason why you are unhappy. To the extent that you can, try to stick to the facts. See how your thoughts and the facts match up.
- Do you easily find reasons for feeling upset, angry, hurt, sad or fearful?
- Would somebody else just shrug off what is making you unhappy?
- Is the reason you are unhappy more to do with the fact that certain things trigger an old accumulated emotions?
- Is the significance of what is, completely distorted?
- Are you looking at things or situation through the eyes of the emotional past within you?
Honestly answering these questions will empower you. You will start seeing that things are not quite as bad as you thought and that to be happy is truly YOUR decision.
Secret To Happiness
Permanent happiness comes from your choosing to be permanently happy starting with this present moment. If you want happiness then you need to stop telling your life story about why you cannot be happy now.
Be at one with life which means recognizing the importance of NOW. When you choose happiness, then you attract happy things as well.
I am not saying that you don’t need things to be happy, all I am saying is, know their place. Happy things are the icing on the cake, but the happiness is the cake. So if you only have the ‘things’, you only need to scratch the surface to reveal that there is no cake underneath.
According to
the law of attraction
and
other universal laws
, you must first become, on the inside, what you want on the outside. You are either choosing to be happy now, or you are making up excuses for not choosing to be happy.
But there are no excuses for the universal laws!!! Angry denials, clever arguments, self justifications and distortion of the facts are not of any use here because then you would only be standing in your own way.
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