What Makes You HAPPY?

Lately, I have been on a kick where I try to define exactly what makes me happy. In the rat race that is life in the United States, I often get so preoccupied with DOing that I forget that sometimes it is more important to just BE and allow myself to enjoy my life.

While I have explored a lot of options, it is usually the little things that come back to me again and again that give me that overall feeling of happiness. Walking in the woods. Smelling the fall leaves or the spring flowers or the scent of the air just before or just after it rains. Colorful sunsets. Teasing my two-year-old granddaughter and being teased by her. Cuddling on the couch with my hubby watching an old movie. Listening to the sound of rain tapping on a tin roof. The scent of bread or cookies baking in the oven. Soaking in a warm bath with epsom salts and a little lavender. Writing a short story or a poem just for fun. Singing harmony with my mom and sisters. These are all simple things, but they are simple things I can use to remember all those times in my life when I felt loved, content and at peace. They definitely carry an energy all their own, and a very powerful and light energy at that.

So what is it that makes you happy? What brings you joy? What puts you in a state of bliss? What activities can you lose yourself and just enjoy BEing? Make a list, and keep it handy so that you can add to it and use it as a reminder of what is really important in life.

Look at your list daily. Notice if you have actually done anything on the list that day. If you haven't, is there something you did that made you happy and was not on your list? Add it to your list! If nothing made you happy, spend at least a few minutes before going to sleep allowing yourself to BE happy!

Happiness is like anything else. The more you practice, the better you get! Furthermore, when you are happy you change your frequency to something infinitely light and abundant. When you put that sort of energy out into the Universe, at some point it will come back to you!

Spend a little time BEing happy every day. It may just become the habit you need to totally change your life!!!

~CSE

 BE Happy!!!

Finding Your Happy Place

In a world of broken people, it is not easy for someone with empathic abilities to stay happy. It takes some effort to remember the unhappiness around you is not your own and then take the time to focus on those little things around you that do make you happy. Finding your happy place requires you to do two things: figure out what exactly makes you happy and taking the time to journey there every day.

One of the things my coach did for me was to help me remember those things that make me happy. My happiest place of all is outside in nature surrounded by trees. I spent a lot of time in my childhood playing in my yard. There was a smaller maple tree in the front yard and a very large black ash tree in my backyard. The tree in the back came complete with an especially cool tire swing, compliments of my father. Trees have always given me a sense of wisdom and permanence, and I spent many hours of silent communication with them as I grew up.

Even today in my little slip of a yard, I have a tendency to sit and commune with a couple of specific trees that live there. I can feel their presence now as I sit in my living room within 15 feet of where they grow.

On days when it is too cold for me to spend a lot of time outdoors, I will use my imagination to think about some of my walks in the woods. There are several places here in Georgia my husband and I like to go hiking. One of my favorite places is at a state park not far from the North Carolina border called Black Rock Mountain State Park. There is a circular trail called the Tennessee Rock Trail my husband and I found several years ago that makes me feel especially close to God.

This particular part of the trail I call my cathedral because it fills me with the quiet reverence you would expect to find in a church or holy setting. On days I cannot make it into my beloved woods, I will sit and use my imagination to spend some time there.

The point is, I know places where I am happy, and when I need a bit of strengthening and renewal I will find a way to go there, whether I am there for real or just in my imagination.

We all have this same ability. Granted, not everyone has a well-developed imagination. If you don't, it is not difficult to make substitutions. Find a picture here on the internet or one in a magazine you can sit and look at. Ironically, if you look at the same picture long enough, you may actually find yourself there for real at some point in the future.

If you have not already done so, make sure you know those activities and places that make you happy! Ask yourself a few key questions. What was I doing the last time I felt happy? Who was I with? How often do I make the time to do this? How could I do this when it is not physically possible? These questions and more will help you open up to the possibilities that are in your own life.

Take time to find your happy place and spend some time there daily. This alone will change your energy/frequency into a much higher one. When we all find ways to feel and be happy, we will also find our world has become a much better place for all of us to live in.

~CSE