Choosing Happiness

During life, we may sometimes find ourselves in a slump, experiencing sadness, emptiness, or withdrawal at times when we know our lives should be making us happy. This can be confusing. Why, if all seems as it should be, are we not happy? What is in our way or stopping us from experiencing the happiness we deserve? Sometimes, it is us. Sometimes, we are the ones who have chosen to be unhappy. Why do we do this? Because, at one point in our lives, we may have experienced something that made us think our life was an unhappy place. We then decided to hold onto this feeling because we expected it to come back to us. However, sadness is not our natural state of being; it is not who we are.

Sadness is perception and emotion tied together. Sadness can be let go of and be replaced by our happiness . We can choose to allow ourselves the experience of being happy again. We do not need to continue down the path of our predetermined sadness any longer. Happiness is not an illusion nor is it meant to be temporary. In fact, it is our natural state of being when we have nothing in the way. Unhappiness is caused by us closing ourselves off from life. We are trying to protect ourselves from the experience of being happy and then losing it.

Without realizing it, we are defending our unhappiness by stopping any possibility of further happiness in our lives. This circle of retreating from life is an example of why so many people are unhappy. This is not a choice made with awareness, for who would wish to be unhappy? In order to fully let go of this cycle, one that was perpetrated by a moment in your past, we need to open ourselves up, expose our hearts, and trust once again that life can bring us happiness . Our previous choice has forced us to abandon this reality.

We can free ourselves up once again to experience life in a way where we can be happy. Let go of how you think life is. Open yourself up to the possibility that life might be different than how you think it is. Remember that what you have thought about life was a judgment, a choice, a predetermined decision based on your past and your past experiences; it is not where you are today. Let your mind be open. Let your heart open; feel yourself letting go. Happiness is not about making yourself a certain way or forcing sadness out, but about experiencing now, fully clear and aware of where you are.

Once we let go of our perceptions, thoughts, fears, and choices, we are open to the moment; this is where happiness is. It is not magic, an illusion, or temporary. It is where we are already. We just have to open up to it by letting go of the way we think life is. Even though we may have been hurt before, we let it go. Even though life was hard, we set this free. Even if all you believe you have experienced before was sadness, you too can exist without it in your life. Freedom from sadness is believing it can be different by letting go of what you thought life was. Let your judgments cease, your ideas lay idle, and your emotions flourish with this new opening to life. We all wish to be happy; we seek this continuously, but we never know quite how to get there. Well, you are already there; it is now, not tomorrow, or a day from now, but right where you are today. In this moment, release what was, what you thought and felt, and just be open to where you are right now; nothing more is needed. You will find that just be being consciously in the moment, free of predetermined ideas or thoughts, you can and will see the reality of the moment. You will see the possibility of happiness right now and begin to finally feel it.