Opening to Happiness: A Happiness Tale
It was her first day in the world and the daffodil was thrilled. The thin wrapper that had held her as a bud split in the early morning and she felt the sun’s rays on her petals. Hers was not a shy spirit; she unfurled her ruffled petals as quickly as she could.
“Why, this is beautiful!” she thought to herself as she felt the little drops of dew condensing on her body and the kiss of the breeze dancing by, full of the music of birdsong and the whir of tiny insect wings.
She watched, mesmerized, as the pastel colors of the dawn brightened, growing sharper and more intense with every passing moment. The little blades of grass at her base glistened in the sunlight, and the light itself took on a wonderful warmth as the sun floated higher in the sky.
She had no preconceptions about how the world should be, no judgments. But she was awfully curious, and wholly open to experiencing whatever the day would bring. So of course she was happy.
She didn’t feel a need to rush things along, despite the deep impulse within to keep growing, or to have them be a certain way, and so she was free to experience them just as they were, and in doing so, she found they were just as they should be. “How perfect!” she breathed.
Her companions danced in the breeze beside her, each one so much like her, yet unique in its own way, and having no need to prove herself better or worse, she saw that every one of them was lovely and precious.
Not everything, of course, was sunshine and birdsong. Insects came to nibble on her petals, and she noted the feeling of pain. A big clumsy dog ran through the garden, crushing some of the daffodils’ leaves and she noted the emotions of disappointment and loss. But she didn’t label her feelings “bad” or hold on to them. She just observed them and let them pass and was open to what came next, thinking it rather wondrous that she was capable of such a range of emotions.
Just when she thought she could hold no more amazement over everything that unfolded throughout the day, the sky began to glow with shades of rose and orchid, turquoise and gold. The birds began singing soothing melodies, and when the air cooled and another layer of gentle dew moistened her petals she yawned and knew it was time to fold inward and rest.
As dreams begin to wrap themselves around her, she heard frogs singing and saw the sparkle of stars shine down from the velvet sky. Beside her, the other daffodils were drifting off to sleep, too. “Wasn’t it beautiful?” they whispered. “Isn’t life grand?”
“Yes,” she whispered back. “It was perfect. Life is good.” And with a smile in her heart, she feel asleep.
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