Finding the Happy

We all make lots of resolutions in December and on New Years Eve for the year is about to start, and we make them with the best of intentions. But usually by now, only 17 days into the new year, we have already slipped up on well, maybe half of them.

So this year I made only 1 resolution (but I also made lots of intentions, it might be semantics here but it works for me). My one resolution this year is to be happy. Now I have written about this before and those of you that know me, know I am a pretty happy person but we all have our times and more and more I see my happy slipping and the grouch coming out and well frankly, I just don't like it or me when that happens, so I am focusing on being happy.

For me the way to do that is to just focus on the moment, be present and see the good in the moment I am in. When things overwhelm me or when someone gets under my last nerve, I take a deep breath and exhale it out and try to find the happy in the situation. It takes constant practice but I have really found that it has been working for me. Things that normally get to me, start to creep in and then I change my thinking and I find the happy.

This is not something new and profound to me or to anyone else for that matter, but it is a conscience effort and it is one that has been working and one that for me needs constant reinforcement and reminding. But I have noticed that the more I do it the easier it is and the less conscience an effort it is and more an automatic.

Coincidentally for Christmas I received from a very good friend the book "The Art of Happiness, A handbook for Living" by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler M.D. I am only about 90 pages into it but I have found it very interesting and very helpful in reminding me of my resolution, my quest and my happy. I do recommend this book even though I am only 1/4 through it.

So my happy for this moment (and at 1:46pm today I have had many already) is that I had hoped to have time to write this blog today and I did with some time to spare in my packed agenda today! Go me. I am happy.