by Andrea Theisson

Created on: September 01, 2011   Last Updated: September 03, 2011

Happiness can be finding the joy in small things, and this daily practice expands your overall well-being. Just awakening to a new day is cause for happiness, if you think about it. A fresh start, and a new day bring positive energy to even the most negative thoughts when you consider the alternative.  Life itself is paying attention to small things, and we can always find something fascinating and so simple that it is pure delight – a child’s laughter, a pet’s antics, a blooming flower, a sunbeam - even rain on the roof and a cup of tea can boost one’s day.

Once you teach yourself to find the pleasures in small details or simple things, your life will take on a brighter aura. It has been proven that emotions and physical health are connected, and to lighten up will become a self-perpetuating practice. And share the delights. We are hard-wired to share, which increases our joy. Try it. Smiles are infectious.

Young children and artists, poets and philosophers, all feel the joy and perhaps know the wisdom in the ability to find happiness in small things. The secret to finding this happiness is just to remember how to be in the present.  Consider the wonder of a baby discovering the world for the all the firsts.  Consider the sensual pleasures that make us human. The six senses can be used at any time, with a bit of meditative practice, to find joy every day, without props or wealth or outside stimulation. This ability of joy is something we can all give to ourselves. It is one of the best things about being human, to actually realize that we are happy using the senses within ourselves.

Perhaps the only obstacle to finding happiness in small things is not giving ourselves permission – to take the time, to stop and really observe things, to indulge in a basic human urge. There was a minor fiction book wherein the author used a word,” joyosity”, as the state of being happy. Certainly the world needs more of this. It is a balance as well as a center of being, this happiness in small things. Perhaps all we need is more of a conscious acceptance that we are meant to be happy, to vibrate at a higher level. 

To tune into this happy level of existence is to focus on pleasant aspects of things, as well as to acknowledge that there can be a positive outcome to stress and challenges. Our thoughts make the reality of our existence. Look around and see, feel, taste all the good stuff that you can. If life has dumped some negatives upon you, find the way to change this into a positive experience, make jokes and see the ironies, and most importantly, find some small thing to make you remember that it’s not all so bad. Flowers push up even through concrete, and the sun is always shining above it all, even over the clouds.

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