We are the designers of our own future. We have to make decisions since we are free beings. I have to decide whether to be happy.
Many of us were raised to think that happiness is some sort of nirvana that can only be attained after the next objective has been met. We believe that once we finish school and stop studying or once we land that dream career, we will be content. All of it is fantasy or an enticing promise of the future. There is always a self-imposed prerequisite that must be met. Conversely, if we tend to dwell in the past rather than always believing that the future would offer us happiness.
In actuality, happiness can only truly exist in the here and now.
So, from where does happiness actually originate? Happiness can only come from within, and choosing to be happy now is a choice that we all must make. This choice then decides my future. Few individuals realize that we are responsible for our own happiness. When we recognize that we get to decide what we think, we understand how that affects how we feel. Our attitude, which in turn reflects our sentiments, directly affects how we interact with other people. It is not difficult to understand how, depending on the beliefs we select, our lives could be drastically different and turn out the way we want them to.
Dr. Masaru Emoto conducted studies on how thought-quality affected water. When water was frozen after being encircled by lovely, strong, kind thoughts, the crystals’ appearance was breathtakingly gorgeous. When water in negative thinking patterns was frozen, the crystals were unattractive and uninteresting. Only what I think exists in the world. “We perceive the reality we can describe, not the world that we see,” René Descartes once said. The experience I have in that scenario or connection will depend on how I choose to interpret what life is trying to show me.
Our capacity to calmly and enlightenedly respond to obstacles and learn something from them is what brings us happiness. We must remain silent observers in order to have the option of responding rather than simply reacting. To be able to go inside oneself and understand what is happening in order to identify and comprehend what is stealing my happiness. What are the ideas and emotions that are causing me to feel unhappy? That is my connection to and perspective on what is happening outside; there is nothing “out there” and no one to hold accountable. It all depends on how we let external factors like other people and our environment affect us.
This love allows me to become stable. The space and time I create for myself in this connection, is the time I begin creating the blueprint for my future. We need a powerful sense of identity, a powerful sense of purpose, and a powerful sense of direction. It is all about me, and all I need is light, understanding, and depth of awareness for my ability to discern in such a way that my future is bright and beautiful.
