A fun little cartoon I saw shows a person holding a jar of happiness. The other person asks, “Where did you find that? I’ve been searching for it everywhere.” The first person replies, “I created it myself!”

People who figure this out are the happiest! To the extent that our happiness depends on outside people and circumstances, the less we will experience it! But if you treat it as an inside job, you can manufacture as much happiness as you desire.

Being happy doesn’t mean we don’t ever feel the full spectrum of emotions, from sadness to anger. It just means that we recognize that we have a choice. We can be sad and still be sitting in a happy vibration.

One of the first steps to having more happiness is to feel loving towards your body. Take a moment right now and acknowledge something you judge about your body and let it go!

If, as a spirit, we are in judgment, disdainful or impatient with the body, it will not heal as easily, and it makes it more difficult, as a soul, to be in the center of the head of our body, and guiding our path from our spiritual truth.

Happy people love their bodies not because they look the right way or are always healthy! They love their bodies no matter what.

If being happy requires a body that never changes and always feels good, there will be many disappointments! I have learned to listen to my body and bring compassion to it, especially if it’s having a hard time! There are so many amazing stories of people who are injured or ill, and how much they learn and evolve because of a physical challenge.

What have you learned from your body? Can you be in gratitude for it?

Happy people have learned to be at peace with what is. To do this it is handy to know that you can release other people’s expectations out of your space.

Others’ expectations in our energy field create a dissonance because the demand we are feeling is not our truth or vibration. One of the benefits of meditation is it allows us to notice how we are feeling and then make a shift.

From a quiet space we can notice when we started feeling unhappy and then notice what we are thinking that is perpetuating that unhappiness. Sometimes we will discover that we are not feeling happy because we are trying to please someone else and it’s not working!

Or, someone wants us to change and we don’t really want to fulfill their expectation of who they think we should be! You don’t have to live with that energy in your space! You can let it go, and instead validate your choices and focus on your life path.

To be more happy, you must accept that some people will be disappointed in you. If we aren’t disappointing some people, we aren’t living our truth.

Happy people trust in themselves, and believe in their dreams. They are excited to begin their day from a fresh perspective and are curious to see what the day brings.

Do you allow yourself to be happy even if someone around you can’t be happy? That is important as well. I watch people dim their lights and hide their passions and dreams because it may hurt a person. Who will be threatened if you get happier, richer, more creative, fall in love and live your dream no matter what it is?

Don’t be afraid to show others that you are happy! People who leave your life because they are jealous or threatened by your joy and good fortune have lost out on learning something from you.

Let yourself attract to you people who support your life! Is there someone you are afraid of hurting if you let yourself be happy around them? Or, are you postponing happiness because there is suffering in the world? Suffering in others or in the world has never been helped by your unhappiness. But it is helped by your enthusiasm and desire to help and be of service. Appreciate your life, trust in your connection with divinity, and make a difference wherever you are!

Yes, there is suffering and hateful people out there. So be the truth that you believe in. You offer the world and those around you the option of joy!

Happiness need not be forced, nor are we required to only be happy and never feel other emotions. We need to feel all emotions! If you feel you are controlled by a dominant emotion that doesn’t relate to an immediate circumstance, that is a sign to do some inner work and get some help!

Take a class, get a healing or spiritual guidance, see a therapist, choose to make a change in your life that will bring you closer to your inner power and truth!

You can have access to your joy, creativity, inner peace and divinity any time and anywhere! You can still be empathetic, and life will present you with sadness and challenges. All the more reason to have a jar of happiness at your fingertips to dip into and spread around when you need it! It’s free, be generous with it!

I hope your holidays offer you ample time to reflect on what you are grateful for, and all the blessings that have come your way this year, and all those that await you in the coming you!

May you be blessed and supported on your path.

 

Rev. Hope Hewetson has been teaching and reading for over 25 years. Call Hope for a reading or healing at 303-530-0232, or email her at revhopi@gmail.com.