The Global Conversation

Tag: happy

  • The magic of happiness

    Once the state of being happy becomes our natural state, ‘the Magic of Happiness’ appears. As human beings we usually make our decisions and choices based upon either gaining pleasure or avoiding pain. We are all striving to get to that happy state the easiest possible way. What if I told you that you need to walk through the pain to get to happiness? Would you believe me? Are you ready to do just that?

    Sometimes our life seems so complicated with all the things we need to do like meeting deadlines, doing the work that needs to get done, financial losses, illness, depression, death, and all the other stuff that make up our busy lives. Why do we do it all? Why do we get so stressed? What are we doing it all for? The bottom line remains that happiness is our final goal. After all, we just want to be happy.

    The truth is that we can either live in a state of stress or be in a creative state. What do you choose? The two states cannot exist at the same time. In a creative state life just flows; there are ups and downs but we are able to roll with the flow easily. Once we are in a stress state we begin to fight what is and we struggle to get through the day. The stress takes away from our state of well being and happiness, and eventually leads to health problems, lack of productivity, and depression.

    Get happy! When you allow yourself to live in a creative state, happiness flows. When you are in a happy state the spirit in you can steer you much more easily. The creative state leaves you the second you begin to rush or worry. This is why it is so important to begin your day in a positive state. One happy thought in the morning can change the outcome of your day. How much time and effort are you willing to spend to create a happy life for yourself?

    To live in a continuous creative state takes awareness and requires a dedicated focus but can be done. First, the need to take responsibility for our current situation, no matter what it is, is required. There are no victims. Accept that you created whatever horror you are dealing and living with. When you take the responsibility for your life you gain the power to change your circumstances. The second key is to be grateful for what is. The state of gratitude attracts more things into your life that you will be grateful for and puts you in a creative state.

    There is magic in everyday life when you live in a constant state of acceptance and gratitude. Happiness begins with the thoughts you think today. Are your thoughts taking you higher or lower on the happiness scale? Only you control your thoughts. You have the power to create the life you desire but are you willing to take the responsibility for where you are right now? Are you willing to take the time and energy needed to train your brain? Only you can open the door to ‘the Magic of Happiness.’

    Terri(Terri Lynn is an expert at choosing happiness and using the Divine navigation system which she shares in her first book Journey to my Soul . Currently, Terri is Sales Manager at Otto’s BMW in West Chester, Pa. where motivates and coaches the sales team. Her intention is to share with others the importance of putting happiness first. She shares her thoughts on her Website ‘Terri Lynn’s Happy Talk’ Terri resides in Newtown Square, Pa.)

    (If you would like to contribute an article you have authored to the Guest Column, please submit it to our Managing Editor, Lisa McCormack, for possible publication in this space. Not all submissions can be published, due to the number of submissions and sometimes because of other content considerations, but all are encouraged. Send submissions to Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com. Please label the topic: “Guest Column.”)

  • Be happy…NOW

    What will happen if you decide to be happy…NOW? According to what God tells us through the author, Neale Donald Walsh, in his book Communion with God, it is the decision to be happy that creates the experience of being happy. What does that really mean? From my own life experience, I understand exactly what this means.

    We create our life with awareness, or without. When we decide to be happy and really commit ourselves consciously to being happy, we will create the experience of being happy. This sounds too simple to be true but not so easy to execute when the circumstances surrounding you feel like hell. This is where consciousness comes in to play. Our thoughts create our feelings, and our feelings create our experience.

    Many family members, close friends, and I are facing huge challenges such as serious illness, death of a loved one, unemployment, horrible work conditions, financial ruin, and divorce. So how is happiness possible under these circumstances?  The answer is happiness develops when the decision to be happy is made in our consciousness. What we look for in life affects what we see. I understand, firsthand, how difficult this appears. Impossible you might think. But I also understand, from my own experience, just how making the decision to be happy really works.

    Only you control your thoughts. During difficult times, greater effort must be put on feeding your mind positive thoughts. Focus on something that is good in your life, no matter how small, because what we focus on expands. Keep something in front of you to trigger a happy thought when you need one. Allow yourself to imagine something great that may happen, or how you will feel when this episode is past. Force yourself to think of things that make you feel good. Your feelings are in your control when you make conscious decisions. When you feel good, you are creating a better world.

    I am not suggesting you ignore the issue at hand to be happy. If you are sick, you need to take measures to get well, but at the same time find a positive focus. Read or watch funny and uplifting stories. Be grateful for something good in your life and focus on the positive. If you are living or working in a bad situation, place a trigger in front of you:  a photo of a happy memory, a positive statement, or anything that will trigger a happy thought. Send love to whatever or whoever is causing a problem. Think thoughts that make you feel good. Imagine how you will feel when this experience passes.

    Our inner world creates our outer world. The inner world is the cause and the outer world is the effect. Find a way to be at peace with whatever is happening around you. Happiness is not always laughter and bliss, but happiness does survive with acceptance and peace. In difficult times, to live in the moment consciously is our best defense but is often traded for worry over what the future may hold. Worry is a misuse of your imagination. Peace, happiness, and joy only live in the present moment. This I know for sure.

    NOW, I urge you to give some thought to your own happiness. In my opinion, happiness is underrated. When happiness is the priority — that is, FEELING GOOD — everything in your life gets better to some degree, no matter what the circumstance. When you feel good. you will attract more things that match that feeling. My wish is health, wealth, and abundance for all; and my hope is that everyone may discover the miracles that happen when you are grateful for what you have at this moment and decide to be happy…NOW.

    (Terri Lynn is an expert at choosing happiness and using the Divine navigation system which she shares in her first book Journey to my Soul.  Currently, Terri is Sales Manager at Otto’s BMW in West Chester, Pa. where she motivates and coaches the sales team. Her intention is to share with others the importance of putting happiness first. She shares her thoughts on her website – Terri Lynn’s Happy Talk.  Terri resides in Newtown Square, Pa.)

     (If you would like to contribute an article you have authored to the Guest Column, please submit it to our Managing Editor, Lisa McCormack, for possible publication in this space. Not all submissions can be published, due to the number of submissions and sometimes because of other content considerations, but all are encouraged. Send submissions to Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com. Please label the topic: “Guest Column.”)

  • I just want to be happy

    How many times has the phrase “I just want to be happy” crept into your thoughts and tumbled out of your mouth?  Perhaps someone close to you has uttered these six words in the midst of their own “unhappiness” on an occasion or two, looking to you for the solution?

    But just what does “happy” look like?

    What images does the word “happy” conjure up for you?  Does it represent a state of being which so far life has kept from you like a callous game of keep-away?  Does your mind paint a pleasant scene of someone other than you skipping gleefully down a flowery stone path, indulging in an ice cream cone, and humming a joyful tune?  Is it in that perfect relationship that you envision and yearn to be a part of, the one that looks nothing like the relationships you are currently experiencing?

    If you Google the word “happy,” the first image that pops up is a giant yellow smiley face.  Is that what it means to be happy?

    If not, what does it mean to be “happy”?

    And why do so many people claim not to experience it on a regular basis, if at all?

    Our spiritual leaders teach us that a happy life is a peaceful life, doing what brings us joy.  Our parents tell us their only wish for us is that they want us to be happy.  But if we don’t have any real concept of what “happiness” is, how will we even know if we ARE happy….or, for that matter, have any idea how to get there?

    Maybe we are closer to a state of happiness than we actually think we are.  Perhaps we are simply hung up somewhere in that space between what we think “happy” looks like and what happiness truly is.

    We have become a fun-seeking, happiness-producing society:  Take more vacations.  Engage in a hobby.  Go out for date night.  Ladies’ night out.  Men’s night out.  Eat more.  Drink more.  Play more.  Get more.  Do more.  Have more.  But what would happen if we valued no moment in life as more “fun” than another?  What if we perceived all of life as equally fun, equally meaningful, equally purposeful?

    Maybe happiness isn’t found in that which we think we are not doing enough of or in that which we think we are not getting enough of.  What if we considered the possibility that happiness is already there, always there, patiently waiting for recognition, quietly knowing its potential?  Perhaps happy is found in the deep sense of knowing that no matter what is taking place in my life right now, no matter how chaotic or discombobulated or challenging it may seem, that everything is occurring to serve my highest good and the highest good of all.  Could we accept the nonsensicalness of it all, at last experiencing the highest level of happiness, knowing that life does not have to be one continuous sweeping run of “fun” experiences unfolding before our very eyes?

    Maybe happiness is experienced in loving exactly where you are…and not where you think you should be.

    Maybe happiness is experienced in loving exactly what you have…and not in what you imagine yourself to lack.

    Maybe happiness is experienced in loving exactly who you are…and not in who you think you are supposed to be.

    I don’t believe that happiness is reserved for a select few, nor is it earned or doled out to those who most deserve it.  It is experienced within our choice to BE it.  It is felt in companion with sadness and confusion.  It is known in the moments when life requires us to stretch the furthest and bend the most and love the deepest.

    What does “happy” look like to you?

    (Lisa McCormack is the Managing Editor & Administrator of The Global Conversation.  She is also a member of the Spiritual Helper team at www.ChangingChange.net, a website offering emotional and spiritual support. To connect with Lisa, please e-mail her at Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com.)