High on Happiness

Posts Tagged ‘Satisfaction’

Having spent her color in a grand exhalation of joy, October rested, breathing in the reds and golds, the fragrances and warmth of early autumn until they were no more.  She had fulfilled September’s promise.  Her mission was nearly complete.

She looked about at the muted landscape and with one graceful sweep of her arm, ushered in the clouds, her welcoming gift for November.

She paused as she watched them fill the hills and vales with fog and rain and snow, savoring the breadth of the transition her work had wrought.

It seemed only yesterday that she had waltzed in the door to a world bathed in emerald and flowers.  The days had passed so swiftly.

She remembered the nights when she felt she had done so little, accomplished so few of her goals.  Yet now, looking back to the beginning,  she could see the sum of her persistent tiny adjustments.  Frankly, she was amazed.

Suddenly, from the north, a strong, cold wind blew in, waking her from her reverie.  She turned, and with one last glimpse at her completed work, smiled in satisfaction and slipped silently away.

It had been an enormous work—the building of the nest after the long flight northward, laying the eggs, brooding over them, keeping them warm.  And then the hatching and the feeding and the discipline and care while the goslings honed their instincts and grew through their babyhood.  (Oh my, weren’t they just the sweetest little chicks!)

But watching them now, so proud of their accomplishments, so capable, so pleased to be members of the flock, she readily forgot all of that.

Now she was content just to paddle along beside them, reveling in their growing skills, enjoying the sunshine on the green water and the petals floating by.  This was the season of leisure, filled with plenty, and with the easy practicing of skills.  These were the days of light and warmth and laughter.

As she paddled through the smooth waters, the heart in her great chest was filled with satisfaction and pride and delight.  And she felt the ancient rhythms flowing through the flock and she rejoiced in being part of the song.

Dish yourself up some crispy green joy.  Lay in a layer of smooth satisfaction. Sparkle it with some slices of snappy delight.  Add a touch of velvety gratitude, and a handful of crunchy pride.  Mellow it out with some silky serenity.

Then toss it with love, drizzle it with creamy contentment and let it flow like inspiration over your tongue.

Feel free to heap on whatever tickles your taste.  Personally, I like mine sprinkled with laughter, spiked with a dash of wonder and awe.

I was running a little late as I left the house this morning.  But as I was getting in my car, I glanced at the hillside and the light took my breath away.

“The morning of the last snow,” I thought to myself.  “Tonight it will be gone.”  So, late or not, I took time to capture the moment with my camera.

Five hundred and eighty days ago, I started writing this blog and taking daily photos.  Back then, I was asking myself the question, “Why am I so happy now?”  I had no idea where the question would lead me.

But this morning, as I stood in the cold, my heart soaring at the sight of morning sunlight brushing the treetops and laying in pale golden swaths across the last of the snow, I realized that I have a few answers.

And the primary one, the one I most want to share with you is this:  Do that which brings you joy.

Take time to think about the things that give you a sense of satisfaction, that make your life more meaningful, that bring you pleasure.  Then find ways to do the best of them more often—no matter what it takes, no matter how challenging it may be to make room for them.  Let them become a central part of your days.

When you commit yourself to being led by joy, to honoring those things that unlock the happiness within you, you’re expressing more fully who you truly are and living more authentically.

That which brings you joy will lead you more deeply into yourself and bring you rewards you can’t, in the beginning, even imagine.  They’ll release your talents and teach you to thrive.  They’ll connect you more fully to life and enrich your days.  They’ll expand your spirit and lead you wonderful discoveries, within and without.  And your happiness will spill out into the world and make it a more joyful place for us all.

So take some time to think about that which brings you joy, and give yourself to those things.  They will, I promise, give back to you in great measure.

It’s not that I ever had some grand vision of the life I wanted to live.  To tell you the truth, I had no clear picture of it at all.

I never could figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up, even after I’d long since grown.

I used to read all these self-help books that tell you to write a description of where you want to be five years from now and my mind would go blank.  I’d make up something, but most of it was stuff I thought I should want, or could want, or would probably enjoy if it came my way; but none of ever really turned me on.

So this weekend, when it occurred to me how deeply happy I am and that I’m living the life of my dreams, I was taken by surprise.  I didn’t realize I had a dream.  I just kept doing less of the things I didn’t enjoy and more of the things that I did, and now what I’m doing pleases me immensely.

Oh sure, there’s plenty of room for improvement.  We can always make the best in us even better.  But now, at long last, I know what brings me satisfaction and joy.  And those are the things I invest my time in—the things that matter to me.

That’s the key:  “Follow your bliss,” as Joseph Campbell said.  Do less of the things that hold no pleasure and more of the things that delight you.  Generally, that means admitting what you’re good at, what’s easy for you, the things that let you use your natural interests, talents and strengths.  Anything less is cheating yourself of your central asset: the minutes and hours of your life.

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end,” said former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.  “It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it.”

I had one of those days today, and the satisfaction I feel is indeed supreme.  But the key to the satisfaction doesn’t lie in simply being busy.  It lies in being busy with purpose, in knowing ahead of time what you’re aiming to accomplish.  Then you find yourself genuinely engaged in your work; you slip into the flow of it—and that is a glorious thing.

You aren’t thinking about your goal while you’re doing the things that will make it happen; you’re just focused on the task at hand, giving yourself wholly to it, letting it absorb you.  The satisfaction and the realization of progress come at the end, when you look back and see all that you have produced.

Of course one of my goals for the day was to snag some nature photos.  My office was closed for the holiday weekend so I had the luxury of time on my side and decided to drive out to the local wetlands to see how they looked in early spring.  The brush around the marsh was still bleached from winter, and most of the trees surrounding it were still bare.  But the air was filled with the deep twang of the bullfrogs’ croaking and the trill of dozens of varieties of birds.

Although I wasn’t seeking them, I found four birds’ nests altogether.  Now there is product of high industry!  All those leaves and twigs and bits of mud and pieces of straw take countless trips to gather, and focused attention to detail to shape.  But in the end, a home emerges, fine enough to raise young in, strong enough to weather thunderstorms and big winds and pelting rain.  No wonder the birds were singing.  Their goal was clear, their work fully engaging, their final product a work of art.

Their nests weren’t built in a single day.  And the goals I’m working on are long-term, too.  But moving effectively in their direction is delicious work.  And the satisfaction that comes from seeing how much of the road I traveled has me high with happiness.