Set an Example - Be Happy!

AA wrote: As A. says, i am reasonably happy :-) Thanks for this lovely note
BB wrote:  Det är så bra att bli påmind om detta. ”Bara” det att bli medveten om att jag ska vara här och nu och se mig omkring är ibland ett arbete. Det är så lätt och ändå så svårt. Så lätt att bara rusa vidare. Men lyckan finns ju faktiskt där om man bara låter den titta fram i medvetandet.

Kände det så tydligt i går när jag var ute och sprang alldeles bredvid ett fantastiskt rapsfält. Det intensiva gula och den härliga doften fick mig att bli medveten om omgivningen och få stop på alla tankar som bara malde runt. Och vips så kändes det så bra.

Set an Example - Be Happy!

“We should try to be happy, just to set an example”*

                                                                 Jacques Prévert

In the city, most people around me seem to be completely caught up in their sorrows and worries. Many of them are so trapped by their small devices, that they are not even here. 

Very few look around or up at the sky, smile to somebody they meet or just look happy.

This lack of happiness can sometimes bring you down. But let's turn it around instead: try to spread the happiness you feel inside to others!

Take a deep breath, feeling how your smile fills your whole body. It’s so good to be alive! It’s so good to be able to breathe and walk, and smile! 

I try to catch they eyes of people I meet, and I smile to everybody. If I’m lucky, one out of ten smiles back. And that makes me even more happy – because then I feel that my happiness is spreading to another person. And hopefully it will continue to spread further!

Have a good week, full of smiles - your own and others'! :-)

The Happiness Network

*”Il faudrait essayer d’être heureux, ne serait-ce que pour donner l’exemple”

Stillness

AA wrote: "I found my stillness in Athens :-) loved the food, weather and people here.  Thank you for this week's inspiration."

BB wrote: "Beautiful, Sabina. It's why I enjoy my photography so much. When I hold that camera up to my eyes, the rest of the world ceases to exist. I literally don't hear cars, voices, steps around me. It's like being in a sound proof room. The second I lift my eyes back to the world, the world rushes back in. Gives me the feeling of stopping time. Total stillness. "

Stillness

”When we allow everything to be

Just to be

As it is

Then complete stillness

Arises by itself”*

                                          Silvia Ostertag

When I walk through the forest, and I have found my rhythm in walking meditation, complete stillness becomes a natural state of being.

It’s way more difficult during busy days at work, in the city, or at home. You need to finish this task or that. People want something from you. The “monkey mind” jumps from one thing to another.

In the middle of the everyday chaos, try to stop. Allow everything to be as it is. The bus rattling by, your back pain, the shouting man in the street, the annoyed colleague. You just stop and breathe.

And stillness arises by itself.

*“Wenn wir alles sein lassen,

vollkommen sein lassen,

so wie es ist,

dann ist vollkommene stille
von selbst.”

Freedom

AA wrote: Inspirational!! Thank you!

BB wrote: Jag gillade detta “veckobrev” väldigt mycket! Tack! Ganska självklart egentligen, och ändå så lätt att glömma bort. Och svårt att leva så dessutom... 

Freedom

“Freedom is the basis of all happiness. Freedom means being free of despair and resentment, of jealousy and fear.”

                                                 Thich Nhat Hanh

This is not how I used to define freedom. Normally, I’d say freedom is the feeling I have when I don’t have to go to work, when I can spend my time with whatever I want to. Or when, after a strenuous hike, I stand high up in the mountains, overlooking my valley.  But looking a bit deeper, I see that it’s not that outer freedom that counts, but the inner one.

When you have freed yourself from negative emotions, and you are in control of your mind – then you can claim to be a fully free person. Then the outer circumstances don’t matter that much anymore. You are free inside.

Observe your mind. See your cravings and reactions, and work on letting go of them. Of course, this requires lots of patience, and it’s a never-ending path. But it’s the path leading to freedom, and it’s worth every single step.

Learning to Say No

Learning to Say No

”I must decline your invitation owing to a subsequent engagement.”

                                                                                   Oscar Wilde

What a challenge to decline somebody’s invitation, wish or demand!

It is so difficult to say no, and to do it without trying to justify ourselves. Why? Out of a wish to be accepted or loved? Pure laziness? Whatever – the result often becomes a source of dissatisfaction, since we end up doing what we don’t want. And the others will notice that, too...

So a friend invites you to a party that you don’t want to go to? Try to simply say “no, I cannot come”. Your son wants a new pair of sneakers, and there’s neither money nor a true need?  Just answer “no”.

When somebody asks you for something, take a moment to stop and listen inwards. If the request goes against your own true needs and wishes – say no. Without adding anything, without justifying. 

You will feel so much better afterwards.

Be true to yourself, and have a happy week! :-)
The Happiness Network

Let Go of Worrying

CC wrote:"Es ist als ob du meine Gedanken lesen würdest bevor du deine Emails schreibst. Deine Worte waren genau das, was ich gebraucht habe." 

BB wrote: "So good and true!! Yet so very challenging. Thank you for reminder."

AA wrote: "Nice nice nice... Deep down I know worry does not help but sometimes it is difficult not to worry. It is like there is something inside and it worries :-o
But nice to remember it :)"

Let Go of Worrying

“Worrying does not accomplish anything. Even if you worry twenty times more, it will not change the situation of the world. In fact, your anxiety will only make things worse.”

                   Thich Nhat Hanh: The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching

Sometimes it seems impossible to stop worrying. We worry about our partner, our children, our car, or our job. And we do it even though, deep down inside, we know it serves nothing.

The thing is, not only doesn’t it help at all, and not only does it make us feel worse, but it actually spreads negativity. Who wants to increase anxiety in the world? By all our thoughts, words and acts we contribute to the energy around us. Whatever we feel, think or say has an effect on that energy.

Of course, if there’s an issue with my near and dear ones, it affects me. I look deeply to see if there’s anything at all I can do or say to help out. If there’s nothing I ask the Universe for help, and do my best to let go of the worries. Our world is so full of negativity, anxiousness, and tension, and I don’t want to add more. 

Next time you feel worried thoughts about somebody or something creeping up on you, try to let go of them. Stop, and breathe deeply. Place the situation in the hands of the universal intelligence, and have faith in the way it works.

Wishing you all an un-worried week! :-)

The Happiness Network