Happy...

What is happiness? What is the source of your happiness? Is it from internal or external sources? How long does happiness last?

I've noticed some things about the way I relate to happiness. I notice that I feel happy in situations that other people feel unhappy in and that I am unhappy in situations that some people feel happy in. I've had very little money and felt sometimes happy and other times felt unhappy . I've had a lot of money and felt sometimes unhappy and sometimes happy. I've been in beautiful places around the world and again, sometimes I feel happy and sometimes unhappy.

And when I feel happy because I gained something in life, that happiness is short lived. It's not long before my mind finds something wrong. Or finds something to complain about.

So, is happiness a feeling that is dependent on external conditions? Or do I get to choose?

If feeling happy is a choice, then I am responsible. It doesn't matter how much money I have or where I live. I am the source. I may choose to live somewhere that is supportive to my choice of happiness. Or I may take action to acquire more money. Not for the purpose of finding happiness is these things, because that happiness is short lived. Happiness by choice is as moment to moment as the choice to be happy. I am the chooser, I get to choose moment to moment.

Looking at daffodils, I feel happy. The colors the way the petals are arranged. And yet, the happy feelings come from inside me. If I wasn't the source of my happiness, nothing in the world would illicit the feelings of happy. Nothing I looked at would generate a reaction.

If you feel happy, consider it is through your connection to your source. I have heard that we all want to be happy. So what are we waiting for? No one else will do it for us. We choose to be happy. And it is a moment to moment choice. It is OK to choose something other than happy. If happiness becomes a "should" then it becomes elusive, in my experience. The belief 'I should be happy' is the source of much unhappiness.

Simply play with choosing, and see what happens.

copyright Yvonne Falk 2010 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED