I’ll tell you a secret: Being happy is a choice.
Imagine that you have access to a happiness switch that you can trigger in times of sadness and despondency. It would be wonderful, wouldn’t it? For it is actually possible and we all have that power.
And you don’t have to go to a magic school to practice this trick. Do you want to know how?
First of all, accepting that sadness exists, that there are times when tears insist on falling and that if nature has given us the ability to cry, there was a reason for that. Tears are the first step towards healing, or as the Roman philosopher Seneca said: “Tears soothe the soul”.
Nobody escapes the cycle of life. Everything has a beginning, a means and an end. Losing is part of it. Losing hurts. Losing someone dear to us hurts even more.
But think about this: How would we value the good if we had not experienced the bad? Joy, if we had not known sadness? Sweetness, if we didn’t know what is bitter?
So we can choose to think about what is good for us. Get your hands dirty and occupy them with things that give you pleasure to do. Handicrafts are extremely therapeutic because our brain channels attention to what we are handling, distracting ourselves from problems. I don’t mean to forget or ignore them. I say that being “brooding”, at a time when we can only see problems from the same point of view, is neither healthy nor effective. Often time is our greatest ally. You have to let him do his job.
But there are many other things you can do. Everyone is different and what works well for someone may not be the right choice for another person. So, think about what makes you happy. If the process is not being easy and you can’t seem to think of anything positive, ask your mind to carry you to some point in your past that has left you feeling happy. Focus on that moment. Relive that moment. Paint the image with cheerful colors, give it luminosity, brilliance, add music that you like, that will bring you good memories. Take a moment at that moment and then, as if you were entering a time machine, bring all these sensations to the present moment. Remember that everything you need is within you. If you have already experienced this, this strength, this power, are yours. You only need to call on them when you need them, to feel refreshed, strengthened, safe, capable!
And if you want to share that experience with me, leave a message. I will be happy to answer you!