Getting Happy...One Step At A Time...

Some call it the Pursuit of Happiness…but I’m not quite sure that’s the best way to label it. I’m sure that some have heard the quote, “happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued is always just beyond your grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.” by Nathaniel Hawthorn. Well, I would have to agree but I must say that it’s very hard to really have happiness when while you are sitting there, problems are being thrown at you every which way. Some say, life is what you make it, and I guess that’s true…but would that also mean, happiness is what you make it? I don’t think happiness could be what you get after you get a job, after the baby is born, after the baby grows up, after I get to retire…because if so, happiness will come after I’m dead! There will always be something new to look forward to. I guess happiness should be seen as a state of mind. You can’t have happiness later. Maybe we are afraid to be happy! We are afraid to let go of things and our problems to BE happy.

I have been very depressed and suicidal for a year now. Max, my boyfriend of 5 months, told me I had to make a change. He knows exactly what I’m going through because he has been there and he has gone through very much of what I have, and he is helping me to overcome my depression. The first step I took was Zoloft to balance out the chemicals in my brain. With that, it was actually possible for me to FEEL happy. Now, I indulge myself in thought, books, art, music and love. Whatever makes me happy, I keep and I filter out the bad. I am growing happier every day. Though life will always give you problems, I think that it is possible to be happy in ANY situation.

Today, do something that makes you happy. Create something that has a meaning to you, and smile about it.

Earth

Take me and we’ll live with a religion of solitude
Staring under the faithful blue sky
Climb the highest mountain tops
And feel our spirits fly.

We will cross the widest rivers
Swim in every stream
Forget about the city boundaries
And feel free enough to dream.

Find my light and bring it out
Let it light the sky
The trees will shake as we run and shout
With our new open eyes.

The eagles will fly above our heads
As we live our lives
One with every living thing
That on this earth resides.

-Anna Bell

Sometimes…I know this sounds crazy…I wish I was born a Native American hundreds of years ago. Back then, everything was a mystery, anything was possible, and you could dream about anything. You lived in the moment and you were one with the earth. There were no boundaries and the natural beauty of the earth stretched before your eyes and out of sight. The sky was blue and not dulled by pollution. Life was full. People weren’t distracted by morals and religion based on sin and a one god. You were allowed to just Be.

Have you ever walked barefoot and the grass or gone hiking deep in a canyon? All you hear is the company you are with and the rushing sound of a river or the wind blowing through the trees. You feel whole and one with the Earth. You don’t hear the sounds of speeding cars or airplanes, just the natural wonders of our world. Everything feels right.

I think that we have become distracted with making our lives easier. We have dedicated ourselves to living longer and having power. Money has become most important. I wish that we could restart and learn to adapt with the ways of nature. If we did, we would be smarter and our bodies would evolve to be even stronger. We would not be weak and we would be even more intelligent that we are now. We have the capability to destroy or be one with the Earth. It’s our choice.

This summer, plant a tree or grow and orchid. Eat your own fruits and vegetables that you have grown yourself. If you’re daring, go hunting or fishing and eat the food you actually got and worked for yourself! Go for a hike once a week, meditate or read on a high cliff or next to a waterfall. Paint a landscape. Go horseback riding. Go canoeing or swim in a lake or the ocean. Climb a tree! Do whatever fits your fancy that has to do with the earth. Go camping or backpacking. Feel one with your home and be apart of the delicate balance of nature. There are so many things you can do for free! Do something daring! Take photography of your experience.