A great sit down with my writers group tonight reminded me of one really important fact: Happiness is paramount. Often I do things in order to make those around me happy and, in the process, sacrifice a slice of my own happiness. I tend to rely on the joy of making others happy as of late without paying any true attention to the basic joys I require.
It is often the little things. I want to stick my feet in the ocean. I want to drink a cup of coffee in peace. I want to enjoy a moment of quiet, or listen to an audiobook or even a dharma talk. Some of those things are more obtainable than others. The ocean is the farthest reach, but I might be able to accomplish that sooner or later.
The key is to find a slice of what makes you happy and devour that as much as you can. It has to be a YOU happy, as I am discovering. It can’t be about the pleasure derived from someone else’s smile. That is a valuable thing and deeply important to my happiness, at least, but I also need to find my own smile. Find my own happy.
That stuff matters.
Some Thoughts:
- Yesterday I closed the book on the NBA season with a final waiver Wednesday. My attention steers towards youth sports now, as my mid kid is in basketball mode and primed for his second game this Saturday.