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Happiness Information.... from Heart-Links.com |
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Happiness Fleeting"You cannot capture happiness no matter how hard you may chase after it. Happiness is something that follows you." The words of the old sage echoed in the young man's heart, sounding a constant beat like the song that plays over and over without reprieve. "What does that mean?" he asked himself. "Time to walk," he continued, trapped in his own inner dialogue. He thought about how many ways he tried to find lasting joy-from the cheap thrills to the bigger emotional investments that still left him bankrupt, at square one, with no more to show than a few scars and wrinkles and perhaps a tiny glimpse of what to avoid-far from any solution, more like a the-pain-will-stop-when-you-stop-smacking-yourself-with-the-baseball-bat approach that moved nothing forward. At least it didn't move back. Or did it? "The pursuit of pain avoidance will never lead to happiness," he mused inside his aching head, an ache that scratched his soul, dug deep into his bowels to trouble and torment him, turned his stomach green, a sickly, hungover nausea that clung like ivy smothering a chimney. "I've gotta' figure this out," he demanded, "I wanna' be happy." He kept one foot in front of the other, as if the forward march would somehow will the understanding to step forth and make itself known. No such luck-though he vowed to keep on. His slow gait opened space for introspection-plod, seek, plod, seek. The mental wheels spun, though he wrestled with a vague notion that only in stillness would answers emerge or materialize. "I can't capture happiness but I yearn for it. I try to do the right things yet it eludes me, like pushing a string. When do the right things add up? When is enough enough? How do I reel it in? Or can I?" His legs carried him while his mind churned. "I know I can't look outside myself but how do I look within? How does looking help anyway? What do I do with what I see?" He tripped over a protruding stone and found himself falling, a gash on the knee, a burn on the palm of his hand. He sat for a long while, watching the wounds leak, a queer smirk across his lips. "What's that about?" he pondered. Despite his stuff, he felt a smile creep upward from his chin. It spread into a grin, like the sun rising between two mountain tops, filling the space with pale light that gains strength with each passing moment, a space that floods with pinks and reds and causes the valley between the crests to stream awakening to all below. He suddenly knew, as we all know, in that profound and knowing place, that the rock that sent him tumbling spoke a universal truth. Only he could pry open the creaking, groaning door that hid his darkest secrets as well as his enlightenment and build a pathway for happiness to alight and embrace him. He licked the blood from his wrist and tasted himself, glanced down at his torn jeans, the naked flesh speckled with bits of gravel, glanced up and discovered an emerald green tree line, a blue sky, a stray cloud, a soaring hawk and a glowing eye that stared back at him and gave him, for a hushed moment, a tiny piece of happiness. That's A View From The Ridge? Please subscribe to A View From The Ridge, Ridgely's inspirational column that goes out around the world, at http://www.aviewfromtheridge.com Ridgely would also love to hear from you personally by email at ridge@aviewfromtheridge.com.
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Happiness - Google News | | | | RELATED ARTICLES Conversational Negative Self-Talk Most people don't even know they're doing it. Throughout the course of normal conversation, they bombard themselves with negative self-talk. Where do we Find True and Lasting Happiness? For the longest time I was convinced that I was not happy unless I had a partner to share my life with. I just knew that having someone to share glorious sunrises and romantic sunsets would make me happy. How To Live Happily Ever After In life, many of us simply plunge ahead, only to realize later that some of the things we did, we wish we hadn't, and some of the things we didn't do, we wish we had. How do you keep yourself on the right track, the right path? And how can you live happily ever after? Here's how. King Solomons Mind "Don't you understand, everything in this life is meaningless," cautioned the old man."Meaningless? Everything? Surely not!" responded the young man in disbelief. Do You Still Have This Type of Dreams? Jesus says in Matthew 13:25"But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way"The greatest danger that we face in the spiritual world happens when we sleep.There are 40 kinds of "tares" i. 5 Keys to Understanding Why Your Life (probably) Sucks! #3 The outcome of Reason # 2 is that you become your own worst enemy. That, in turn, leads on to Reason # 3 whereYou place more value on doing than beingIf you are at war with yourself, chances are you don't like yourself very much. How Good Are You? The demands of being a good person can sometimes mean sacrificing your own happiness.You may have been raised to be a good boy or girl; encouraged to be a good worker, to be a good parent; to be a good friend; to be a good citizen? And I'm not saying that this is wrong; what questioning the effects of this on our individual happiness and the impact on our country. Happiness Versus Pleasure We are a pleasure seeking society. Most of us spend our energy seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. Letting Go of Anger and Awaken to Lifes Grand Aventures Anger can make us feel good and enlivened for a little while. When we are angry we are often feeling self-righteous, critical, judgemental and we have someone to blame for our own problems. The Elusive Butterfly of Happiness Are You Chasing the Elusive Butterfly of Happiness?For many people happiness is an elusive butterfly in the garden of life. Imagine a young child in the garden on a summer day. Gratitude For Dummies Yes, it might feel great to win the lottery. Money, houses, travel - these are wonderful, but not enough by themselves. Keys to Happiness "Happiness is the whole aim and end of human existence" - Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony" - Mahatma GandhiUnderlying the reasons why clients have come to me over the years is the desire for happiness. What is happiness? Conventional wisdom often defines happiness as status, financial security, worldly goods, possessions, lifestyle, accomplishments etc. Happiness as a Habit Health and Happiness are the two things that most people will tell you they desire most. Ask a parent what they want most for their child and they will almost always say, "I really don't care, as long as they are healthy and happy. 5 Keys to Understanding Why Your Life (probably) Sucks! #2 In Key Reason #1 we looked at how you are working with outdated beliefs. Reason # 2 gives a clue as to why that might be so. Smile - A Look at False Happiness Smile.. Healthy, Wealthy and Happy in 2005 Life is simple. You'd be surprised to know that most of the cherished things in life are almost at arm length and not too expensive either. Norman Rockwell - The Man Who Created His Own Reality In preparation for a class I taught today, I spent some time this week studying the life and works of American artist Norman Rockwell. His idealistic paintings, portraying the innocence of a simpler time, were featured for decades in publications such as The Saturday Evening Post and Boy's Life. The Science of Laughter The title I chose for this article makes me smile. The science of laughter? Laughter, one of the things we used to take for granted, is now the subject of scientific study. Happiness is Yours for the Taking Happiness. The pursuit of so many. A Surefire Way To Manage Your Fears While Leading A Happier, Healthier Life Imagine discovering a way to get rid of your fears in a quick and painless manner. In fact it can even become fun!Did you know only two of all the fears you have are innate: The fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. |
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