Choose Happiness!

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Happiness…does it seem illusive at times?  Fleetingly glimpsed perhaps and difficult to hang on to?  Or are you one of the blessed ones who wake up happy and very little throws you off balance? 

If you’ve been coming here for awhile you’ll know that I’ve spent much of the past five years most of my life, on a quest for the knowledge and tools to own, solidly, a deep inner peace.  I feel I’m well on my way there but I really want to bump up the “happiness factor”.  Happily, my physical well being has improved a lot recently (I’m now sleeping much better and am able to take wonderful, long walks) so I’ve decided that it's time to focus some of my creative energy on a project I’m calling “Choose Happiness”.

I truly believe happiness is a choice, even though it may not always seem like it.  Every minute of every day, even in the darkest of times, we can choose a more joyful thought.  Dr. Bruce Lipton’s (The Biology of Belief) work on cellular biology has proven that our thoughts control the functioning of our cells, effecting our health and aging on the most basic level.  It takes a little training for new neuron pathways to make the synapse connections but happiness can be a learned behaviour…yes, really

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You’ll notice some photographs popping up now and then with the focus on happiness.  That will be me training those neurons to jump to new synapses with happy thoughts...what better way to focus on happiness than with creativity!  My intention is to string together a series of happy images that can be "draped and worn” metaphorically speaking, like a cheerful scarf or a precious necklace.

And no, sadly, eating cupcakes isn't the magic elixir to finding lasting happiness…but appreciating their tiny, exquisite beauty and sharing them with a friend really does make me feel happy.  

In fact just taking these photographs of cupcakes made me happy!

Sweet, happy blessings dear friends,

Comments

[Patti]

It's great that you have come so far on your quest for happiness & therefore wellness Kate. Your cupcake looks delicious! My oatmeal fig & ginger cookies always make me happy...you have inspired me to go and make some right now! :)

[lucy]

this post makes me happy (including the delicious photos)!! i agree that happiness is a choice - and the hanh quote is perfect, because i also think there's a difference between "happy" and "joy". while you use the word happiness here, i hear something deeper and more abiding which i choose to call joy... (my word for the year before water and before fire was JOY!) onward with the quest!

also, while i'm not familiar with dr. lipton, i have been totally encouraged by the mind studies (mindsight by dr. dan siegel) that prove we can forge new pathways through our brains and thus our lives!! xoxo

[charlane]

i agree - i've always thought making myself think happy brings me closer to happy on a lot of days