My Happiness Project
I've spent the better part of the last few years trying to figure out what I want in my life, and every time I come back to it, my first response is something I’ve been saying for as long as I can remember - sometimes to people who scoffed at my ‘naive’ answer - that I simply want to be 'happy'. And I don't mean that type of bubbly, excited all the time, cheerleader happy. I mean really happy - with all the ups and downs that it comes with - the kind of happy that helps me get through the bad things because I'm grateful and aware enough to know that ultimately, I live a good life. I want the kind of happy that means that my inner 'stores' are full - not empty, as they have been mostly because that's what becoming a mother often does. We are so blessed to have these little beings come into our world, the love that fills us, the wonder that it instills in us, but it's also exhausting. The kind of exhausted you feel in your bones. The kind of exhausted that doesn't go away after a few good nights sleep. It's the kind of exhausting that wears on your soul if you're not careful. And I wasn't. For years.
One of the things I came across in my journey to find purpose and really get to know myself all over again was the book The Happiness Project. It wasn’t a cheery, easy read about champagne parties or a new age method full of mantras and mandalas. It was the journey of author Gretchen Rubin trying to discover what brought her happiness, and learning about the concept in and of itself - through the study of science, philosophy, and self experimentation. And it was really helpful in altering my understanding of what it means to be happy, what happiness actually looks like, and what the impact of our fast-paced, tech filled world of high demand is.
Years later, I still think about what this book showed me - that happiness is a CHOICE. Life is not perfect for anyone, and the older I get, the more I understand that. I understand that even with all the wonderful things a person can have in their life, they can be unhappy and make choices that will ultimately reinforce that rather than shift it. I understand that we all have things that happen, because even the most beautiful rose has thorns. That we all have stories and histories and challenges to overcome.
And the skill, the dedication, and the effort it sometimes takes to cultivate happiness can make all the difference between experiencing challenging moments and coming out the other side with stories of joy and gratitude, of being able to appreciate your life and feel a sense of contentedness and fulfillment that feels safe and sustainable, and that we are all on a journey - so we can choose to make happiness a part of that every single day.
Definitely worth a read.
