You Have Everything You Need To Be Happy

One morning I was writing out a grateful list and I couldn't stop writing. I just kept thinking of more and more things to be grateful for. It made me realize that I loved my life. That wasn't always true for me. But here's what I know now.

You have everything you need to be happy. Yes, it's true. As a society I think we are headed into a new paradigm of what happiness is. The old paradigm was "I'll be happy when I get...more stuff, more money, more power." And this kid of mentality causes wars, corruption, abuse, sabotage, and unhappiness. But now, there is an underground movement going on where more and more of us are realizing that we can be happy right now no matter what our situation is, because we have an ever-present inner happiness.

What is inner happiness? It starts with self-love and then expands out to loving what you have, who you have with you, and who you are connected to in your community.

A while ago, when my husband was in bed for several months, recovering from an accident and we had no income, I spent most of my time caring for him. There was no time to do my own business and I was doing a job, which I didn't think I was very good at, i.e. care-giving. It was tempting to get upset, worried, and discouraged but I knew that I really had to joyfully choose more uplifting feelings if I was to get through that period. Every day I would count my blessings and make lists of all the things that I was grateful for. At first the lists were very short, but as time went on, the lists got longer...not because I received more, but because I remembered more.

In a contracted, small mindset, it's hard to remember all the things you can be grateful for. But if you can just start nudging yourself in that direction, it eventually carries you forward on it's own accord.

It reminds me of the story a life coach once told. She lost her home in Hurricane Katrina and several months later, during a therapy session she was told, "think of one thing you are grateful for." And she arrogantly replied, "Like what?" The therapist responded, "Like you're still breathing!" It was her aha moment because she realized that she was playing the victim and she could change that at any time.

And so did I, and so can you. Because there really are hundreds of things we can be thankful for. When I deliberately focused on the good in my life during my husband's recovery, more blessings came...people brought us meals, paid for housecleaning, sent us money, bought yard sale items I was selling, and everything worked out. I deliberately did things to keep feeling expanded and uplifted. And that's called deliberate creation.

So keep making grateful lists, enjoy your life, spend more time with your friends and family, and connect every day with your inner happiness and you will be supported in every endeavor. If it works for me, it will work for you.