The Simplest Answer (The Echo World, March 2017)
What if there is one choice that each of us can make in each moment that will dramatically improve every area of our life and our world? Will you choose it?
What if this choice is totally free and available to absolutely everyone? Is that even possible??? Yes.
The simplest answer to every problem that exists in our world is to choose to BE HAPPY.
This is not the momentary, situational happiness that many advertisements promote. Authentic, intrinsic happiness – well-being – is available to each of us in every moment, regardless of our circumstances.
There are many simple practices that will help you grow your happiness: kindness, gratitude, cultivating optimism, avoiding comparison, nurturing relationships, forgiveness, savoring joys,…
Happiness is really just a practice, like music or sports. It comes easy to some people, not so easy to others, yet we all benefit from the practice.
Choosing to be happy makes us more creative, collaborative and allowing. It helps us to make better decisions, too. It is the quickest way to stop the pain that so many of us seek to escape through choosing excessive consumption or destructive activities of all forms.
Think about it…we know that it’s more fun to be around happy people. We also know that talking angrily at plants harms them and talking appreciatively to them helps them to thrive. What effect does a planet full of largely unhappy people have on this beautiful earth…and that’s not even counting the harmful decisions we make from our pain!
Monday, March 20 is the International Day of Happiness, declared by the United Nations in 2012. To learn more, visit www.happinessday.org or www.authentichappiness.org or email me (aurorawalksgently@gmail.com) and I’ll send you my Happiness Bibliography.