High on Happiness

Posts Tagged ‘savor’

At the end of the day when the rush and tumble stills and your thoughts unwind the hours, let them drift to the places where kindness spilled its light, where laughter broke through.  Let them dwell on the moments when you connected with someone, heart to heart.

Watch from way up high.  See how touching your ordinary moments were, how satisfying your accomplishments, even of small things.  Notice how skillfully you performed all those little acts you take so easily for granted.  And rest a bit in the happiness of it all.

Dip into the pleasures and delights and savor their sweetness and spice all over again—the melodies, the rhythms, the motion, the colors, the fragrances and textures and tastes.  Appreciate the richness and variety you encountered, even when you weren’t really paying attention.  See how the memory remains even so.

Let the glow of forgiveness and compassion bathe you, enveloping you in its freeing warmth.  Let it wash over all the acts you would undo, and those committed by others that piqued your irritation or ire, and let them dissolve in its waters and be healed.

Then rest, with a heart glad and free, and dream sweet dreams.  Dream sweet dreams.

Every now and then, in the midst of her song, happiness calls us to rest.  She softens the landscape, turns down the sound, and invites us to pause, and breathe, and be.

She stretches out her little blanket of serenity for us, in a space all smooth and high.

She knows our eagerness to round the next bend, to play the next note, to make the next move in our games, and she laughs and tells us we’ll be there soon enough.

“But first,” she says, unveiling a moment of exquisite beauty, “savor for awhile.  Here, look back on where you’ve been and at all you have accomplished.”

Then she shows us a movie of our labors and play, and we see how they have unfolded and grown us.  And she whispers in our ears, “Well done.”

Filled with rush and tumble, our days go flying by.  Our minutes butt up against each other; our schedules are overflowing.

We send our thoughts scurrying ahead of ourselves to make sure we’ll beat the clock to the beginning of the next thing on our calendars.  And before we know it, another day has come to an end and we hardly know where it went because we were so seldom present.

There’s another way, you know.  It’s as simple as breathing, as easy as checking in with yourself now and then.

“Hey, Self,” you say, “How you doing?”  And you listen for the answer.  And then you send your breath to all the places in you that are tense, tight, anxious, stressed, and let your breath linger there awhile, soft and deep and easy, until you remember you that are free and alive in a beautiful world.

So it costs you a minute or two.  It’s a cheap price to pay for a miracle.  And a miracle is what happens when you remember who you are.  Suddenly you’re present again, and relaxed and in control.  You remember that you can be at ease, that you can gather in the joys of the journey, and savor them as you pass by.

Life is a gift.  Untie its ribbons with gentleness and thanksgiving.

As today unfolds before you, open your heart to all it holds. Anticipate it with joy; drink it in fully as the moments flow past. Then, as it comes to a close, savor the beauty and richness of all it held, for each day is one of a kind, unique in all eternity.

For you, it spread its gifts – its lessons, its pleasures, its challenges and blessings.   And each was custom tailored to reflect to you who you are.

Embrace this day, and draw it into your heart with love.  Send those who played their parts in it your gratitude and well-wishes, for they were messengers sent to you to bring meaning to the day, to reflect your joy, to illuminate your shadows, to draw you more fully into the great feast of being.

See the treasures that were set so plainly before you and let your heart be filled with gladness and with thanks.

1.  Smile. Not only will a smile make you feel happier, it will actually boost your health and make you appear more attractive and friendlier to others.  An added plus: it’s contagious.  Pass the goods around!

2.  Appreciate and be Grateful. When I was a child, I was taught this prayer:  “Thank you for the food we eat.  Thank you for the world so sweet.  Thank you for the birds that sing.  That you, God, for everything.”  Repeating that little chant is still a great way to begin and end the day.  Being appreciative of and grateful for life’s bounties opens and warms your heart.

3.  Take Relaxation Breaks. Stretch, breathe, take a walk, take a nap, chill with some beautiful music, practice meditation.  Even a minute or two of relaxation can revive you in the midst of a busy day, refresh your mind and restore your perspective.

4.  Indulge in a Hobby. Find something that fascinates or interests you and create an island of time to pursue it.  Engagement in an interesting activity adds satisfaction and meaning to life.

5.  Embrace new possibilities. Take time now and then to look at the dreams you have placed in the cupboard labeled “Someday,” and brainstorm ways you could begin taking baby steps in the direction of the ones that hold the greatest appeal.  What would it thrill you to achieve?

6.  Savor your accomplishments. Take time to review your achievements and successes, to revel is the satisfaction and pride they yield, to feel the expanded sense of confidence and vitality they brought you.  Go ahead, pat yourself on the back!

7.  Have fun. Go play!  Life’s too short not to spend some of it laughing.

8.  Open to Inspiration. Make time for things that lift your spirit, that put you in touch with your sense of connection with the best in you, with the Grand Largeness that sings through life, through you, through all that is.

9.  Reclaim Your Sense of Wonder. Stand and look at the sky and realize it goes on and on and on, that beyond the range of your vision whole galaxies dance.  Look at your hands and think about all they can do, so effortlessly, while nerves and muscles and cells bow to your unspoken commands.  Look at a square inch of earth and think about all that’s going on there.  Think about mountains rising from the seas, about the mysteries of weather, about the birth of a child.

10.  Let Yourself Love. Look at the people around you and open your heart to their amazing uniqueness, their one-of-a-kind being.  Love the ways they move and walk and talk and all the emotions they kindle within you in a dance of interaction.  Love the person in the mirror.  Love the strangers you pass on the street, the little child across the globe whose face you will never see, the generations who have gone before us and on whose legacies we build.  Love the Mystery that brought us into being, the Creative Source from which we somehow came.  Love with kindness, and gratitude, and appreciation.  Love with every ounce of you, with every molecule of you, and you will know the highest happiness of all.