Love the Life You’re With!
I was having a conversation with a friend and she was sharing a story about her life. She was creating a way of living that felt natural and supportive. Then she said “Life got in the way.” I have said the same thing and perhaps most of us have. We have this dream or idea and we get excited about it. Then we “have” to make a living. Then the passion often gets put on the back burner. And many times it never makes it to the front burner and gets completely forgotten. Remember the song “Love the One you’re with” by Stephen Stills? That song came to me, as my friend and I were talking. I said it feels like life has to be a certain way for us to be happy. What if we allowed Universe to take over our dream and we then love the life we have created.
I know sometimes our life creation doesn’t feel so hot! However, even when we are stuck in a place that doesn’t appear what we have intended. We can sometimes find a small bit of cheerfulness under the mess. There is a wonderful article in the current July issue of Oprah. Molly Simms and thirty one other Oprah staffers attended a month long course on being happy. It was taught by a Yale Psychology professor, Laurie Santos. Santos taught this course in the spring of this year, titled Psychology and the Good Life. Twenty five per cent of the undergrads signed up for it! Making it the most popular in Yale’s history! That is thrilling to think, that our young adults are not just focused on what they desire to achieve. They want to be happy as well!
If we can’t have the life we think we want, let’s love the life we have created. David Steindl-Rast said “It is not happiness that makes us grateful, It’s gratefulness that makes us happy.” Let us take a moment each day, as we arise or when we are going to sleep are two good times, to make a gratitude list. There is a double gift we receive when doing this practice. We get to recall what actually occurred to bring us happiness and the immediate pleasure of reliving it again. So, if you can’t be in the life you want, love the life you’re with! From my happy heart to yours, Thomas