Happiness is Our Birthright
Yes! We deserve it!
Happiness is our birthright.
I've been thinking and ruminating and feeling into this thing for the past week or so.
I watch my 5 year old daughter, day after day, from morning to night, intent upon one thing only, really, when all of her activities of the day get boiled down: she knows in her body, in her blood, she is here to be happy. That's it. That's her one truth: to be with the ones she loves and to be happy.
This has turned my head upside down in a good way. I forgot decades ago that I'm here to be happy. It seems selfish, irresponsible, trivial, and the worst kind of denial. It certainly is NOT spiritual. They say, don't go looking for happiness, not here. Look for peace, look for neutral, look for, if you're lucky, the end of suffering. But happiness is just an emotion, they say. It's ephemeral. Superficial. It's not deep enough.
Bullshit!
I am here to be happy. And everything I've done, this life AND past lives, all of my errors, bad decisions, meanness, smallness, all of it doesn't change that. This body is here, same as the birds, the whales, the ticks, to be happy.
And all of the suffering in the world, of friends, of strangers, of nations, it doesn't change that. My not being happy because others are suffering helps no one. I'm just seeing this only now. Where have I been??!!
Check it: I didn't ask to incarnate here, not me. Maybe "my soul" did, but I am not my soul, or not only. I am this body which has been playing the game here for over 70 years, believing my "mission" transcended this life. Yeah, no. I mean maybe, but this life is still a life, this incarnation is singular and unique and inherently miraculous. My mission is to listen, to remain in the wisdom and knowing of THIS incarnation, THIS body, and play by its wisdom.
Okay, so I'm giving up feeling burdened by my "soul work", this idea that my "work" here is to "evolve" to some better self. No, my work here is to stop figuring shit out, stop apologizing, drop the burden of all of my "failures" (and all the ways I have not "lived up to my potential"), and follow my happiness. Everything else will flow from that.
Maybe this sounds trite to you. Follow your bliss, blah blah blah. Well, I've got news for you: the body's agenda is trite as hell. Be happy. Be here, be happy. E makes jokes all day long. She teases us and laughs. She jumps and laughs. She runs and laughs. Then she cries over a bruised toe or ego or toy, and then she tells a joke and laughs.
She shows me, over and over, this is how you do it, Dada. Watch me!
Hi Paul.
I am not a follower of blogs, in general, but am so happy to read this entry. Yes, happiness. My youth was happier than yours, so I knew about happiness before you did. I knew that if I was NOT happy, something needed to change. Non-happiness was simply not acceptable to me. Fortunately I learned in my 30s about working on myself, how to discover and dissolve/heal my blocked pathways. Have been doing that ever since. Still doing it.
I say, congratulations, and better late than never! How amazing that you broken your family's pattern that went something like this: "unhappiness is normal and safe. This is how it is. Buck up."
Those lifelong patterns are really really hard to see and release. Mine is "I am not safe" with variations, of course. It still comes up, of course, but it is so familiar and now I know it is NOT TRUE.
Lately I have become dedicated to strengthening my spiritual discipline. I am not very good at discipline, but I have a clear insight that spiritual discipline is greatly needed by this soul/spirit. This is the time for me to learn and practice spiritual discipline. So I am meditating every day usually in the morning, and then writing in my Spiritual Journal, talking to the Divine in that journal, and dedicating each day to the practice of remembering that I AM THE HOLY. Every day is a small revelation and a small strengthening of my spiritual core. Finally. Time to really strengthen the spiritual muscle by following daily my own divine direction. That means the divine direction that comes from within, not from a teacher or anything like that. Just me and God. Of course I am open to hints from others, because we are all connected, and I have much to learn.
I have been doing this new practice for two or tree weeks so far, and congratulate myself on having done it every single day. Maybe I missed one....but picked it up. So not perfect. So needing this.
I wanted to share with you because I feel the genuine surprise and revelation in your posting. How very beautiful that you and your partner have raised a child in joy! A child that is full of joy and happiness is truly the teacher to us all. Thank you.
Love Dog Caitlin