My amazing group is reading “The Untethered Soul” by Michael Singer and continuing to absorb the lessons a bit (byte?) at a time. Chapter 15 asks that question. “Are you choosing to be happy?”, and goes on to explain that Choosing to be Happy IS a choice. When someone asks, “How are you?”, do you answer, “Fine. You?”? Do you answer with a logistics update? For example:
THEM: “Hi!, Nice to see you! How are you?”
YOU: “Well, so-and-so said [this] to me and so-and-so- did [thst] to me and the service person I called told me she can’t be here til Friday at 4:00”.
OR: do you dig down deeply and answer the question?
Our group has talked about that “FINE” answer and what it means. But today I am actually asking that other, bigger question, ARE YOU CHOOSING TO BE HAPPY? Is your happiness truly tied to or dependent on what “so-and-so” did or said, or that your dryer might not work for three more days? Or is that inconvenience? Maybe you could have answered, “I am happy, thanks! I am a bit inconvenienced, but that is just an annoyance. I am happy. How are you?”.
The author of “The Untethered Soul” writes, “Most people don’t dare give themselves [the choice to be a happy] because they think it’s not under their control”, and goes on to suggest that perhaps we have “put a lot of conditions on being happy” (page 142). Using our example above, Yes, you would be happy but “so-and-so said [this] to you and so-and-so-2 did [this] to you and the service person can’t be there til Friday at 4:00]”, so clearly, with all of that going on, happiness is just not an option.
I am in agreement with Mr. Singer when he writes, “It’s not a question of whether your happiness is under your control. Of course it’s under your control. It’s just that you don’t really mean it when you say you’re willing to stay happy. You want to qualify it. You want to say that as long as this doesn’t happen, or as long that that does happen, then you’re willing to be happy. That’s why it seems like it is out of your control. Any condition you create will limit your happiness. You simply aren’t going to be able to control things and keep them the way you want them.”
HMMMMMM.
So, Mr. Singer continues, “You have to give an unconditional answer. If you decide that you’re going to be happy from now on for the rest of you life, you will not only be happy, you will become enlightened”.
Is that question mark still on your forehead? Think of this as an attitude adjustment. On page 142, (Yes! All of this is on one page!), the author lets us know, “You don’t have to learn Sanskrit or read any scriptures. You don’t have to renounce the world. You just have to really mean it when you say that you choose to be happy. And you have to mean it regardless of what happens”.
Think about that. Does it truly matter deep down inside that so-an-so said this or did that? Or that the service man can’t be here till Friday at 4? You don’t have to be happy about those little inconveniences and annoyances, but that is really all they are. Inside, where it really matters, choose happiness. It will enlighten your life. And Lighten your days.
In Wellness World we remind clients to choose health not illness through their nutrition and movement behaviors and lifestyle choices. Now, I am suggesting that you not only choose health, but also choose to be happy.
Take a deep inhale of positive energy.
Exhale all the negativity.
And choose to be happy.
Bev@HealingWatersSolutions.com.
Hypnotherapy, Life Coaching, Health and Wellness Coaching.