Of course that brings up the question of happiness, and how and were it is found. It is pretty safe to say that we all want to be happy, and that real happiness is worth more than wealth or health. But where is that elusive quantity to be found? Some of the people who have struggled the hardest to have it seem to be pretty unhappy in their lives, and some who seem to have the most difficult lives seem to have the most internal peace and happiness.
We have just finished Christmas time, and if you are like me, you have probably read some of those heart warming Christmas stories that seem to abound at that time of year. And within some of those stories often lies a key to our quest: If you want to be happy, you have to think more about others than you do about yourself. It is one of the paradoxes of our lives. The more we struggle to make ourselves happy, the less happy we become. We become small in our own outlook, shrivelled, focused on our own wants, selfish, and in a sense, dead. Whereas if we start thinking more about others, it brings us life, enthusiasm, that warm loving feeling we crave so much, love in return from others, new vision.
In fact, there is a ripple effect. You have likely noticed it. A loving outgoing deed or word or smile causes the receiver to respond in kind, not only to the giver, but to others that they meet. The opposite is also true. Selfish words or actions also cause the receiver to respond in kind, and that ripple spreads across the pond of our community.
In my own life, I have seen quite clearly that those periods in which I focus on myself and my own wants, needs, lacks, desires, etc. are the times in which I tend to be the most frustrated, depressed, dissatisfied, and generally negative. The times when I am more concerned with helping others, relating to others, and giving out to others leave me more inspired, positive and happy. I recommend this strategy to you.
May you have a very happy new year filled with outgoing love and concern for others!
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