Spreading Happiness

AA wrote: Jag har inte skrivit det till dig, men jag tycker verkligen om dina veckomejl! Det finns tusen sätt att gå ner i vikt eller börja träna som vi alla känner till och ständigt hör talas om, men när det handlar om att bli mer mindful, gladare, en bättre medmänniska eller vad som, så tycker i alla fall jag att detta är mycket mindre tillgängligt i samhället, vilket är väldigt ologiskt och lite trist enligt mig. Tack!


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                            “The happiest man is he who makes most others happy.”*

                                                                                               Denis Diderot

There are days when we draw worried circles in our own little lives, when we’re filled with concerns, or simply stressed out. Happiness seems far away.

Especially on those days we should try to stop and breathe, and come back to our smiling self. Even a faked smile is a smile – and most likely you will end up smiling at yourself and all the (unnecessary) worries you have.

And then, a challenge:  offer your smile to the next person you meet. Often, you will get a smile back. Nothing strengthens your own happiness more than sharing it with others!

Today, try to make each person you meet happier after having met you. Offer him your smile, your support, a compliment, or your open ear if he needs to be listened to.

Like ripples on water, happiness will be spread around, and life suddenly feels lighter in both senses of the word!

Have a good week! J

The Happiness Network

*“L’homme le plus heureux et celui qui fait le bonheur d’un plus grand nombre d’autres”

Simplify Your Life

AA wrote: "Du sprichst mir aus dem Herzen... Da ist soviel Ballast in meinem Leben, den ich loswerden müsste und auch möchte. Nur, das ist Luxus. Vorher kommen erst einmal die Dinge, dich ich wirklich machen MUSS. Du kennst das: Haushalt, Kinder... Ich mach's ja gern. Die Dinge, die mich belasten- volle Regale, Kleiderschränke ausmisten. Dazu reicht die Zeit einfach nicht. Klar, kleine Schritte gehen auch, immer mal was...ich hätte aber lieber gleich alles erledigt. Ach ja, das wird wohl noch dauern..."

BB wrote: "Love it :-) i started with a fictious moving out cleaning yesterday....Just asked myself 'would I take this with me if I moved out to a new place ?' and as a result eliminated a lot of things  :-)  will continue with my simplifying act at home :-)

Thank you!"

CC wrote: "Now I understand that the modest way of living is not lack of means, it is my nature.

When I left my old home country I had to get rid of thirty years of my life. I was living in a big house for fifteen years, and you can imagine how much stuff had been gathered all over.

I started in September cleaning the house, selling everything on the net or on the fleemarkets, and the rest went to the garbage.

The worst thing was to throw away my son's things - boxes full of school stuff. I cried and threw away, cried and threw away...

The house was emptied in six months, I managed to pack thirty years of my life in a transporter for a new start.

 

That was the hardest lesson ever concerning reducing your life to a minimum. After that I have no problems to give up just anything.

Now I've become a true "minimalist". Living in a small apartment where I have to throw away old to buy new - no space for too much stuff.

My shopping centres consist of fleemarkets.

I don't spend any money on clothing, on luxurious things. I live very basic - basic food, basic clothing, basic cosmetics, basic enterntainment.

Just the basic things keeping you alive and going.

I live very peacefully. Due to the straining work I spend a lot of time at home being grateful for having it. Enjoying the greenness outside.

I love Silence and Peace, being out in the nature, feeling One with the Universe.

I love little concerts, many of them free. I love small happenings of art - classic music, ballet, art gallery visits. Where you feel your spirit being lifted to other athmospheres. But such events are rare here in the "province".

I love walks in the surrounding nature. Letting the wind clean my thoughts, the sun carress my face.

I love sitting at my sister's summer house, letting my eyes rest in the breath taking beautiful landscape.

I love my home to be simple and clean, I know each and every object there. I even know the pieces of clothing I have by heart.

You cannot buy Life. You can only feel it. Money is a reassuring thing to have but it is not the purpose for your existence.

 

It is good to have enough money to make you feel secured - it allows you to enjoy Life without it!

To feel content and at peace is a state of mind that has nothing to do with money."

DD wrote: "Can only agree with all the quotes and thoughts!"

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“Simplicity is owing very little in order to leave space for what’s indispensible and for the essentiality of things.”*                    Dominique Loreau: L’art de la simplicité

We live in a consumption based society, and not only do we fill our lives with far too many things, but also with far too many activities. There is a constant consumption going on, and – does it always nourish us...?So much time and energy is spent on buying things, taking care of them, and worrying about them. So much time and energy is spent on consuming experiences, be it music, films, games, or travels; in the end we only become overfed. And all the time we’re complaining about having too little time.Try to simplify your life. This is a two-fold process: cleaning out the material clutter and cleaning out the mental overload.I have gotten rid of a huge amount of things, (only in rare cases I’ve missed them afterwards) and I’ve stopped impulse purchases: I think more than twice before buying anything at all. Nowadays I am happy with few possessions and I take well care of each one of them.By cleaning out the mental overload I mean reducing the overflow of stimuli. Carefully choose what you spend your time on. Reducing your activities frees valuable time, and it also heightens the quality of your experiences.So what about a small spring cleanout? Look at something you do often, without really enjoying it, and try to diminish the time spent on it. Perhaps you can do it more efficiently?  When it comes to your belongings: go through what you have lots of, like clothes, books, or CDs, using two basic rules by Dominique Loreau: “ Only keep what you really adore” and “If you haven’t used it for a year, out it goes”It would be great to know the result of your spring cleanout!

Have a good week! :-)
The Happiness Network

*“La simplicité, c’est posséder peu pour laisser la voie libre à l’essentiel et à la quintessence des choses.”

Let Beauty Make You Stop

“When you are looking at a sunset, and are in contact with the beauty of nature, practice mindful breathing. I am breathing in – what happiness! I am breathing out – the sunset is lovely! Getting in touch with the beauty of nature makes life much more beautiful, much more real”

                                                                   Thich Nhath Hanh

Stop and stand still when beauty catches your eye. Stop, watch, breathe, and enjoy.

Most often we just rush by, since we’re always in a hurry.  But of course we can afford to spend two minutes on feeding our souls! We won’t get fired if we’re two minutes late for work, our dinner will still taste nice, the friend won’t be mad because of a two minute delay, and the world won’t collapse. 

Our constant rushing comes from within, and we just need to make an effort to learn how to stop. It’s not difficult. You just have to remember it– and do it.

Buddhists say that breaking an old habit or establishing a new one takes 21 days. Why not make a list of 21 days and note the times you let the beauty of life make you stop and enjoy it? The times you stopped, breathed in, and were fully alive.

Have a good week! 

The Happiness Network

Leave Your Agenda Behind

AA wrote:

"Det skall bli mitt ledord denna veckan!"

BB wrote:

"About my agenda. Nope, can’t leave it behind this week. Nor next. However, for a while this afternoon I did manage to forget about my agenda. I sat on my porch in the sun reading, when this spring’s first bee landed on my coat-sleeve. What a lovely surprise visit!"

CC wrote: 

"Todays happiness mail is also very nice. I really appreciate those monday sharings."

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 “Be fully present

  Feel your heart.

  And engage the next moment without an agenda.”

                                                                 Pema Chödrön: Living Beautifully

We want so much. We want things to happen or develop according to our ideas and wishes. We want people to behave the way it suits us. When something else happens, we’re disappointed.

The problem is we’re too attached to our own agenda. We should learn to drop it, and let things evolve in their own way. Try to relax in the not knowing, and be ready for the surprises life has in store for you.

This week, before going to a meeting, calling somebody over the phone, or just leaving your house: try to let go of your own ideas and wishes. Be fully present and completely open to what happens. Feel your heart. And the “engage in the next moment without an agenda”.

Have a good week! 

The Happiness Network

Vive la différence!

AA wrote: 

*Clap clap!* I love it. Amazing the day it arrived cause i was thinking of it on this very Monday.

❤️
BB wrote:

Comparison... I'm deeply grateful having had parents who by intuition knew that the only thing children need is love. We never had much but as a child I felt being taken care of, being loved. The worst thing you can do to a child is to deprive it of love, make your love conditional. The best method to damage a soul, sometimes irreparably.

In my youth I probably compared myself to others but Life teaches you to make a distinction.

Now I very seldom compare - I choose between different options, make decisions.

Each and every thing, person, event is unique. You can only choose which one is YOURS. I hardly ever compare myself or my life to that of others - maybe because I firmly believe that we all are here to learn our individual lessons.

Why should I compare my Life and my Lessons to those of others...? I'm here for a reason, and that reason applies only to me.

I can only compare different options in my Life - which one is mine, which is the way I should take.

Comparison is for me making choices, listening to your inner voice, intuition - THIS is your way, THIS is the better option compared to that one...

Comparison is your ability to choose what is YOURS

Comparison helps you to differentiate, to purify your Real You from the unnecessary crap

Comparison keeps you on the right path towards Divinity

CC wrote:

Deine Messages kommen wirklich an bei mir und tun mir gut. Wir unterhalten uns die ganze Woche über immer wieder darüber. 

"Comparison is the death of joy" war auch wieder ein Volltreffer. Ich bin nämlich Meister im Vergleichen )-: Auch wenn ich weiß, dass es eine Anleitung zum unglücklich und unzufrieden sein ist.

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“Comparison is the death of joy”

                                                                 Mark Twain

When we were children, we were often compared to others, be it siblings, playmates, or the “nice girl next door”.  They were seen as good or bad examples, to take as role models – or avoid.

We got into the habit of this constant comparing ourselves with others, wanting to be smarter, more sporty or prettier. As if we were not good enough.

In our heads we all know that every human existence is unique, that every person has her own way to go, her own tasks to fulfil, and her own talents to develop. But do we really live according to that insight? Don’t we still sometimes compare ourselves to others, one friend to another, or grandchild A to grandchild B?

Let’s try to be observant of when we start comparing people to each other. Caught in the act we could just stop, breathe, and be grateful for the fact of being alive, for being exactly the person we are, and for the amazing diversity all around us. That’s what makes human existence so interesting. Let’s celebrate it instead – vive la difference!

Have a good week! 

The Happiness Network