Happiness

“You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness.”

Jonathan Safran Foer

This week I am exploring happiness and the above quote certainly rings true when wanting to avoid huge emotions.

In any relationship, emotions are needed and at times, even emotions that we don’t like to experience.  Avoiding a more negative type also means losing the more positive.  Perhaps we all need to look at emotions as being healthy rather than good or bad?  Accepting the emotions as they are without judgement!  All emotions are necessary in life and help us express what is going on around and inside of us.

Interesting, many therapies look at happiness.  Hugh van Cuylenburg’s Resilience project is an example of this.  Hugh was living and volunteering in India and noted that the people, although they had little, were very happy.  Further study and this interest led to his project which was based on gratitude, empathy and mindfulness to bring a happier life.  His project has been implemented in many schools and he has also authored books on this and other subjects.

Laughter Clubs are another venture that combines laughter to improve moods, the philosophy is faking it until you make it.  So simple, yet it works and promotes health and happiness with gentle yoga moves.

Reflecting back to sadder times, I know that I have always had an element of laughter in those moments.  Perhaps it was a stress release, or the choice of remembering happier times with the loved one.  As time goes on, it is harder to explain the situation and/or reason.

So, my question this week is “Are you enjoying the moments of happiness as they are presented to you?”  Perhaps this is something that we all need to reflect on, especially given that the Victorian school holidays commence next week and the other states shortly.