The Pursuit of Happiness

“Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

A delighted fan (myself) in the Tardis. A pure moment of happiness. Smiles like this are a sign of joy.

You cannot fake a genuine moment of happiness or bliss. It’s like a tiny piece of time that holds the balance of the universe. It’s the achieved state of grace, of joy, of childlike glee. It’s Christmas morning right after you open your eyes. It’s the first touch of someone special holding your hand. It’s the quiet solace of sunlight touching your skin after the darkest winter.

The reality of it is that it tends to be fleeting. It is, in itself, a moment.
However, as the quote above mentions, we are always pursuing it. We are forever looking to buy it, own it, hold it, or create it.

But I say, can we just experience it? Can we open up our hand, and let happiness touch down upon our palm like a butterfly? And then allow it to move forward again without clutching onto it, and pinning it to a board in an attempt to keep it.
You see, that’s how we destroy it. By trying to own the moment, we begin the cycle of it’s demise. Because now we expect it to stay, and in our expectation we create the inevitable disappointment when the moment passes.

So yes, I agree that participating in the manifestation of your own blessings is a journey we should all travel with honesty and integrity. Welcoming the happiness by opening your heart, and sharing the joy with everyone we encounter is an excellent way to keep the energy of that state of grace in constant flux.
Follow your dreams, reach for the stars, and always, always, open yourself up to allow the beauty of happiness to be within you and without you.

A young one
looks toward the stars
for a sign that
something greater
holds the answer
to happiness
in the dance of the universe.

As life’s lessons unfold,
and the stars remain unchanged,
the search moves inward,
and the answer
is revealed.
The dance of the universe
beats in time
with her very own heart.

~JL©2015