What if life isn't as complicated as we make it? Yes, there are trials and we don't have everything that we want. That is a given, but what if the everyday isn't so hard?
It seems to me that we know things that make us happy, but we deny ourselves those things. Sometimes we have to because of circumstance, but sometimes we just don't do them because we fill our our lives with other stuff. What if, instead, we made a list of the things that we knew made us happy and started living that way?
For instance, I like quiet mornings, walking with friends, helping my husband do the dishes, reading, shopping by myself, and having coffee with my daughter. Yes. I know simple things. I am not talking about huge things because I know that the small things make life happier.
Recently I saw a quote somewhere about fun being transient and happiness being transcendental - or something like that. It is true, I am not a fun seeker. In fact, just the other day my daughter and I were supposed to go explore a nearby city, see friends, shop in a little boutique, but when the day came we decided what would make us happier would be to run some errands, have tea on the couch, and have a nice dinner at home. We probably would have fun exploring, but it would have also felt forced or made us feel rushed around by not doing the things we actually needed to be doing. You know, that aching feeling you have in the back of your mind when you have something you need to be done, that isn't getting done because you are doing something else. We didn't want that feeling.
What I think might be really useful is to sit down and explore on paper what makes you actually happy. What 10 simple things do you actually enjoy, make your life feel fuller or give you a sense of happiness. It may be working out in the evening instead of in the morning, dinner with your family, having your bills paid on time, making sure you top off your gas tank so it never gets below half - whatever it is that leads to an ease or comfort for you, write those things down.
Then, what would your life look like if you started engineering it to fit those needs? What if you got up earlier to do yoga, made time each week to walk with friends, or didn't schedule any meetings before 10AM. Whatever it is for you I think this would work whether you were ultimately more in control of your life (I am a rare breed that sets all of my own hours (or I engineered it that way)) or if you had a more 9-5ish job. You still have control of how your interact with people, how you show up, how you spend your free time - ultimately it is your life. Are you making it as happy as you can? What small things could you be doing differently? I know I am going to start looking at mine over the course of the next few weeks, because this is the only life I get.
Image: I found this online a while ago, but have lost the original resource. If it is yours please let me know so I can credit you. I love it so!
