My best stuff comes while I’m walking my dog. Putting one foot in front of the other, every morning at around the same time, seems to invite a deep conversation between me and the Spirit that walks with me. So I’m walking Tashie, and I notice that my head is pitched forward, the back of my neck is tight, my teeth are clenched and my jaw is hard as a rock. I’ve tightened in response to my thoughts: planning, evaluating, projecting, strategizing, etc.
Because I notice all this mental activity and how it’s impacting my body, I regroup. I realign. I put my head back on top of my body where it belongs(do that now, as you’re reading this), the back of the neck relaxes, the teeth release, the jaw opens a little. I feel so much better! (Do you feel it, too?)
Now that Spirit has my attention, she whispers, “Be happy now.”
As in, you don’t have to strategize for this. You don’t have to earn it. You don’t have to make reservations far enough in advance. Nothing has to change. Nothing has to get better. You can be happy Now.
So I do. I ‘be’ happy, in that moment. I relax. I decide to just be happy for no reason. And then I realize how many years I’ve spent trying to earn this ‘elusive’ happiness. I’ve been trying to be organized enough, or good enough, or successful enough to be happy.
What about you? Are you trying to earn your place in the pantheon of purpose? Are you waiting to harvest the happiness that will come after all your diligent work? Are you striving to become the version of yourself that actually deserves it?
Stop doing that. All that trying and waiting and striving is actually pushing you further away from what you think you’re approaching.
Do this instead: Be happy now.
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