don’t you feel better when you have something that you can look forward to doing? not dread. but something that is cheery and fun? there is a lot of discussion around, about happiness. is happiness some state that once you’re there, you’re there? is it episodic and fleeting? is it a feeling or a state?
it is my belief that happiness is not a state, but is a feeling and is a very complex one, at that. if you focus on the positive and decline the negative (as much as possible) – you may likely have more “happiness” than others who do not use this technique. this is my belief.
this can be a challenge if the stress-monsters are active, or you are surrounded by negativity or people who might constantly chatter about some event or other – bitching, moaning, wailing, sniveling… ahhh – there it goes so easily it can happen!
i recently went through a “dodged a bullet” or “cheated death, once again!” situations. when the surgeon gave me the report, i squealed and did a “high five” with her – as it had been weeks of uncertainty and anxiety that began with a routine doctor’s visit, then tests, then a referral to another doctor (this one), and surgery, and more tests, and finally the report. my mind went through so many gyrations that i know others go through – in fact, i said to one of my doctors, after she concluded a test to send off to the lab, “now we enter the “anxiety phase” of the process”. she laughed.
more data needed to make a decision was the line of reasoning. but this does not prevent those conversations with God and the dredging up of thoughts of all types that take you in places you should likely not go. right. but you do. “get your hands off that keyboard!” “do NOT search the internet!!” “bad! bad!”
it takes working with yourself to not slip into negativity with the constant battering of media that pumps it out to make us a more anxious society – in fact, a more anxious civilization…
but being anxious makes you unhappy. it makes everyone unhappy around you. remember that movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? well, that didn’t work, now, did it? what’s the answer? hide. yes, that’s right. shut off all input from negative sources! don’t read newspapers. turn off the television! listen to calm music. it makes sense. you can tell them NO by doing this! try it for twenty-four hours – i guarantee you will be a calmer person!
in the meantime, feel free to gaze upon these images – to help yourself calm down. imagine yourself there… now… enjoy!
