Don’t we all say, sometimes: ‘If only I could win the lottery, then I could go on lots of holidays (or whatever our own dream is) and I would be happy. Yet every ancient philosophy in the world tells us that it actually works the other way round …. ‘If I choose to be happy, then I do things differently, and I can have anything I want’.
This is very challenging for our minds, which have been trained in the western culture of striving to attain. We almost want to make it impossible to achieve our dreams, because that proves that we were right – only the lucky ones can do that, and they are very few.
Yet at a gut instinct level, we all know that when we are feeling good, we respond to things differently, and the world seems to work better for us. It seems worth experimenting with, since we are, most of us, not about to win the lottery! What would happen if you decided to be happy today?
Homework :
- Choose to be happy today, and just notice what happens.
- Act as if everything is working well for you for a day, and notice what happens.
- At least, practise smiling for a day, and notice what happens!