Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Happiness Comes From Within

Tags

24-hour news, Choice, External, Grateful, Gratitude, Happiness, Internal, Needs, social media, Wants

“Happiness comes from within. It is not dependent on external things or on other people. You become vulnerable and can be easily hurt when your feelings of security and happiness depend on the behavior and actions of other people. Never give your power to anyone else.” ― Brian Weiss

 

Have you ever heard a friend or relative cry out, ‘I just want to be happy!’? People seek happiness in money, travel, relationships, a good job, security, or some other place. The problem with this idea is simply this: Happiness is a choice.

You choose to be happy. If you constantly depend on material things, people, places, or your job to make you happy, you will find out very quickly that this is an untenable position. Why you ask? Because nothing is permanent in this world. Money changes, places change, people change, jobs change, and your health changes. If you depend on outside things to make you happy, you’ll be chasing happiness for the rest of your life.

Happiness is a mindset. It literally is a way of living. You either choose to be happy or you choose to be unhappy. Frankly, I choose to be happy. Being happy is so much easier than being pissed off and afraid. Happiness is calming, peaceful, comfortable. Why would anyone want to be anything but happy?

I find the people that are chasing after happiness are never happy. There’s always one more thing to get, one more friend to have, one more experience to try, one more place to travel to. A common phrase unhappy people use is “if only”. If only I had a wife that loved me. If only I had a nicer home. If only I had a better job, a faster car, a puppy, ad infinitum.

Unfortunately, in the United States, we have a society driven by marketing, sales, and advertising. We’re shown unrealistic pictures of happy people driving around in Ferraris, eating whatever they want, drinking whatever they want, and living the supposed “good life”. We have a 24-hour news cycle constantly berating us with disasters, crime, and tales of doom and gloom. It is never ending and inescapable.

Be informed but remain happy. Buy the things you want and need but be happy. Be grateful for what you have. It is so interesting to hear people talk about what they need and confusing need with want. Most of us have what we need to survive. We have a place to sleep, we have enough food to eat, we have a place protected from the elements. Yet, so many of us are unhappy. We take for granted what we have already and that what we have is enough. I think part of our unhappiness as a society is spurred by social media, advertisers, and the 24-hour new cycle, which focuses on negative, rather than positive stories.

How can you turn all of this around? Avoid it. Stop watching the news. Stop spending hours on social media. You can still be informed by scanning the news for a few minutes in the morning. You can stay in touch with friends by making some postings in the morning and reacting to your feed. Once you’ve done these things–GET OFF OF IT!! Then, focus on the things you want to do for yourself. Work on your goals, work on yourself, do your chores. Read, write, experience. Most importantly, take stock each day of what you are grateful for. Really focus on the things that you have right now. The more you focus on what you have, the less you’ll want something externally.

I hope all of you have a terrific Saturday!

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Choose Laughter, Humor, and Happiness

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Happiness, Harold Klemp, Humor, Jumping the Gun, Laughter, Rush to Judgment, Spiritual

“This is how we work with Divine Spirit. We try to look at life and find the laughter wherever we can, whenever we can, because laughter is the healer.”

—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

Happy Saturday, folks! It’s 16 degrees in Michigan this morning and I am enjoying some soothing music and a cup of coffee.

In today’s crazy world, it is so easy to get riled up and upset with what’s going on in any country. Scandals, crime, disaster, are all the talk of the day. If you go to Twitter, it comes at you lightning fast, spreading, in some cases, rumors that have no basis in reality. Take it easy. Relax. Wait for a story to unfold before jumping on the first tweet or online article that hits the wire. So many people in journalism jump the gun to get the scoop without the necessary fact checking and due diligence, then have to walk it back when the truth comes out.

The same actions can be taken with our lives. So many of us are blind-sided by things. We get bad news and we lose our minds over-reacting. We make assumptions and run with them without knowing the facts. We are all moving at such a fast pace that we forget to take the time to really think about what has occurred.

Take your time, evaluate, look at all of the things you can do to fix the problem or make your situation better. When you take the time to think through things, instead of quick reaction, you’ll start to feel better. Yes, there are real tragedies that hit our lives, there is no way to argue against that. Even these tragedies have a silver lining in most cases. Think. Evaluate. Plan. Execute.

When the reality of your situation is out of your control, you have a choice. You can be pissed off or you can find humor in it. It’s going to be there regardless, so why not be happy with your situation and move on? Laughter makes us feel better. Humor is the antidote to hard times. There will always be challenges in our lives, tragedies, and just outright bad luck. Life is not about what happens to us. It is about how we react to the things that happen to us. You have a choice. I choose happiness.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday

Tags

Bad times, experiences, Good times, Grateful, Happiness, Learning, Life, Sorrow, Thankful

“I believe that if you don’t derive a deep sense of purpose from what you do, if you don’t come radiantly alive several times a day, if you don’t feel deeply grateful at the tremendous good fortune that has been bestowed on you, then you are wasting your life. And life is too short to waste.” – Srikumar Rao

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/srikumar_rao_563863?src=t_thankful

This life is such a blessing. The ups and downs, the happy times and the sad, and the times of loneliness and joy of being with family. All our experiences combined comprise our life.

When the bad times come, we are in the thick of it. We are at the edge of the abyss and highly creative, solving the problem right in front of us. During these times we aren’t so happy. We are stressed out, we are overcome with emotions, and we are struggling to survive. Interestingly, when these times pass and we recollect the experience we view it as a source of triumph, sometimes even laughing to ourselves. We laugh because we see the comedy in some of the things that go wrong in our lives. These bad times are the areas in our lives where we really do learn and grow. I am thankful for all of the bad times. They taught me so much about myself.

When the good times come, we are ecstatic. We are so happy and joyful. Everything is bright and colorful. We enjoy these times so much that we hope they never end, knowing that something can go wrong at any minute without notice. These are the memories we store away for later. These experiences slip in and out of psyches over and over again. They remind us how precious life is.

Then there are the times that reside in the middle of these two extremes. They are the workdays. They are our habitual experiences. Getting up, going to the gym, getting our kids off to school, our morning commute. These are the days that we rarely notice. Nothing good or bad, exciting or boring, just time passing by.

Our lives are all of these things woven together into a quilt, with the myriad pictures we capture and remember. Pictures of friends, holidays, and graduations. Pictures of marriages, reunions, and anniversaries. Pictures of dinners, vacations, and birthdays. This is the life we lead.  I am grateful for all of the pictures in my quilt. The good pictures, the bad pictures, and the opportunity to share my quilt with others.

New Followers

I also wanted to thank all of the new followers this week. We are getting really close to the goal of 500. Daily Ramblings is at 488 followers. I only need 12 more to hit the goal of 500. If you know of anyone that may be interested in my content, send them my way.

I hope each of you has a great week!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Phoenix – Final Day

Tags

family, Friends, Games, Good Food, Happiness, Joy, Movies, Phoenix Trip

I’m writing this early because I’ll be busy cleaning up my brother’s house and getting packed up for my flight on Thursday the 13th. This trip was a terrific time. It started with my niece’s wedding. It was a wonderful ceremony and went off without a hitch.

Then it was a full week of reconnecting with friends, good food, and lots of laughs. It was also a great time to hang out with my brother, play some games, and binge watch some shows on Amazon and Netflix. I also got in some writing, reading, and some much-needed quite time to think about things and reflect.

I like my reflection time. I think about all kinds of things, like what my life would be like if I did this or that in my past or what I could change today and what effect that would have on my future. I like thinking about my family, my friends, books I have read. I even like to think about thinking sometimes.

I hope all of you enjoyed my Phoenix trip! I did. Friday, I’ll be back to my posting schedule. I really appreciate all of the new followers and the time you took to investigate and learn about my blog.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Birthday

Tags

Birthday, Grateful, Gratitude, Happiness, Time off

I’m not posting today to celebrate my Birthday. Have a great Monday!!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday

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Enjoy Life, Happiness, Live Longer, Longevity Study, Robert Waldinger

Enjoy this terrific Ted Talk examining the question: What makes the good life? Some of you may be surprised, while others may not be. I don’t want to spoil this for you-you’ll just have to watch.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday

Tags

Happiness, Knowledge, Rabbit hole, Searching, Truth, wisdom

“The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds.” – John F. Kennedy

Boy, is this a good one!

When I was studying for a Doctorate, I truly began to realize how true this and other statements are about our limited knowledge in so many fields. When we discover something new, we begin to discover more avenues to follow and begin to discover there is a lot more to understand. It’s almost like running down a never-ending rabbit hole, much like the one in Alice of Wonderland. The key difference is the rabbit hole only leads to other ones, and other ones, ad infinitum.

I think we just need to understand that this seeking will never end. There will always be something more to know, more to apply, more to do. It is never ending because with each new discovery, more doors open in other fields, more doors open for commercial application, and more doors open to refine the idea just discovered.

Subsequently, science needs to keep seeking to understand that it needs to seek some more only to understand that this answers this question and presents ten more. We need science, but science will never discover the truth about our reality. Truth is only experienced. Truth is known when we see it. Truth is unchanging. When you find the truth, you don’t need to continue looking. Truth just is.

Our search for knowledge also concerns other aspects of our lives. Think about happiness for a moment. Are you happy? If not, why not? Happiness is a state of mind—an attitude. You either are happy, or you are not happy. Happiness, like truth, is within. We must learn how to be and nothing more.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday

Tags

God, Happiness, Love, Soul, Spiritual Enlightenment

“The reason for spiritual enlightenment is not to escape life, but to learn how to live it richly, to enjoy it.”—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

When many of us think of a spiritually enlightened individual we tend to think about a monk in a cathedral laboring over a manuscript or in a cave contemplating the greater things of life. Spiritual enlightenment is something that should be shared with the world. This is what this quote is about.

Spiritual enlightenment, regardless of each of our personal definitions, is about connecting with God. In Eckankar, we call this connecting with the light and sound. The light and sound are metaphors for what we hear internally and what we see. We are taught that when you gain spiritually, these gains are gifts. These gifts, in turn, should be shared with others. It’s almost like a fountain. The fountain works because it sprays its waters upward, the drops return to the pond surrounding it and the fountain uses the same water over and over.

Just like the fountain, we can look at love like water. If we get love, we share it. In turn, that love comes back around to us and the cycle continues over and over. This is simple right?

Think about this for a moment. When do you really feel good? When you serve others.

Serving others isn’t about working for them or giving them gifts. It can be as simple as saying hello or passing along a smile. It can even be the act of wishing others well in a non-personal way. It is this passing along that gives us the greatest joy.

Yeah, when you get a brand-new car or a new techno-toy it’s terrific, but the joy is fleeting. I’ve found that the giving of self to others delivers a longer-term happiness, a happiness that goes deep down to your core. It is hard to explain.

When you give your son or daughter a birthday party, the feeling you get when they are smiling and excited and happy is priceless. When I was a young boy, maybe around the age of 6 or 7, I remember being so happy on my birthday that I cried and hugged my Mom. At that moment, we were all in the family’s only car late at night to pick up my father from work. Even at a young age, I knew we didn’t make much and the gifts and the little cake my Mom made were what they could afford. I didn’t care. It was the passing of love from Mother to son that made the whole day.

It’s interesting when you think about these little moments that stick with you. They stick with you because the love that came through was true and pure and selfless. This is the same way you can feel when you realize that you are here because God loves you. You—Soul.

“Soul exists because God loves it.” – Sri Harold Klemp. This is one of our core beliefs in Eckankar. When you think about others, when you do things for others, when you serve others, you’ll discover that the feeling of love inside grows and grows. This love stays around. We call this divine love. Divine love is composed of all types of love, even romantic love. The key to understanding what divine love is is to simply understand that it is charitable. Divine love is giving, serving, sharing, selflessly without regard for reward, it simply is.

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday

Tags

Acts of Kindness, Altruism, Happiness, Love, Random Acts of Kindness, Selflessness

Before you can improve your life and find a measure of happiness, you must learn to do one thing every day out of pure love. That means, don’t expect anything in return—neither thanks nor happiness. Pick that occasion carefully. Then, whatever that one act of giving of yourself to someone else is, do it with all your heart. —Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

This is harder than it looks, particularly when we are mired in the busyness of life. If you purposefully try to plan something to do it becomes much easier.

The thing you choose can be as simple as cleaning up around the house for your loved one or making them a meal. Perhaps it is helping someone when they need help.

These little acts of kindness are beneficial because they focus your attention on something other than yourself. When you are acting in this way, something occurs. I always feel a sense of contentment. It isn’t an egotistical feeling, but one of satisfaction, so to speak.

One website that can give you some great ideas for these little acts of kindness is https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/

This website has collections of little things you can do for your neighborhood, your loved ones, anybody. I try to select at least one thing I can do daily that is simple but interesting to me. Something like telling a server at your favorite restaurant how well they did. You can pay it forward, by paying more for your coffee and telling the person taking your order to apply the difference to the next customer’s bill.

Visit this site to get a whole collection of ideas and stories of what others have done to make their world a better place.

There’s another quote by the late Paul Twitchell. It is: “To get love, you have to give it.” (paraphrased) This relates to what I am offering in this week’s wisdom posting. The more love you give out the more you get.

I hope all of you have a safe, happy, and relaxing weekend.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesdays – Happiness

Tags

Coursera, Dan Gilbert, Happiness, Surprising Science of Happiness, Ted Talk, Wellness Course, Yale

Do you want to learn a little more about happiness? If so, be prepared to be startled by the findings of Dan Gilbert. His Ted Talk is funny and informative. I was prompted to use this one this week because it was recommended by the Wellness course I am taking at Yale via Coursera.

Enjoy!

Until next time…

Dave