"Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose."
- C. S. Lewis
Things You Can Lose
- money
- clothing
- big house
- mobility
- job
- people you love
- all your stuff
What if you base your happiness on things? Things can be lost, and eventually we will all lose something, or everything.
It is important to be happy just as you are, right now, for no reason. No one can take that away from you, no matter what happens, or what you have or don't have.
What if everything was taken from you. Would you still be happy?
"Be happy for no reason, like a child. If you are happy for a reason, you’re in trouble, because that reason can be taken."
- Deepak Chopra
the ideas on this blog give me a reason to be happy.
ReplyDeleteOK, that makes me happy.
DeleteThis post could not come in at a better moment - it is so simple and so true.
ReplyDeleteI love working with kids - they get it.
DeleteI'm pretty happy when my basic needs are met. It's been more difficult to be happy when I am struggling to find food and when I've been insecure about whether I'll be able to provide for my shelter.
ReplyDeleteTerri- I've been there and it is rough when we have fear about the basics. I hope things improve and are more settled for you soon. When I was in that place, I used to ask myself "In this moment, am I OK?" If I could answer yes, I moved on to the next moment. Sometimes that's the best we can do.
DeleteMarla
Thank you Miss Marla. I'm in a better situation now than I was a few years ago. It was rough for several years. Many difficulties at that time. I have some odd jobs now which pay for food and make my shelter need more secure. I didn't use the correct verb tense when I commented earlier which made it seem like food and shelter were an immediate need now.
DeleteIt is true for me that I feel happiest when my basic needs are mostly met and I'm secure. I don't need a lot past basic things, including social connection, to feel happy.
Yes, if you have been in that place, you know what it is like. Nothing like experience.
Thank you for your concern and for sharing the question you asked and answered as you were traveling through a difficult time. A question like that and the answer brings me to the present moment and is very calming.
I'm still on track to relocate in a few months. I've just gotten some extra work which will allow me to make changes
Thank you Miss Marla; it is a pleasure to meet you here on this blog. You seem like a very warm, caring and kind person.
Terri,
DeleteI am amazed at the capacity of humans to be happy in even the most dire of conditions. Having said that, meeting ones basic needs is somewhat a pre-requisite to happiness. It helps a lot.
This reminds me of a quote from one on my favourite psychology types, Carl Jung. He said,
"Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.”
Easier said than done, at times, but good to think about none-the-less.