The pursuit of happiness @ Saver Queen

The pursuit of happiness

Posted on May 2nd, 2011 Saver Queen 6 comments

Many, if not all of us, pursue happiness. But how is happiness discovered? One line of thought is that happiness is created; you go out and actively create the life of your dreams, at which you will be met with happiness as your reward. An other, perhaps less popular, belief is that we need to learn to be content and satisfied with what we have, at which point happiness will find us. Over the past one or two years, however, I have been exploring the possibility that perhaps joy already exists within our world, and is just waiting to be unveiled. Perhaps happiness is really about attention to what surrounds us. I wonder, if we surround ourselves with things we love and feel passionate about, will we necessarily be happy? We will necessarily feel fulfilled? We can provide ourselves with an abundance of opportunities, people, and gifts, but what if we achieve everything we want and still are left feeling empty?

I think that many opportunities to feel joy are missed in life. What happens if you lie next to your partner on a rainy day and ignore the shape of their body, the sound of their breath or the pattern of the rain falling on the window? What happens if you prepare delicious meals for yourself but ignore their taste and drown the sensation in the noise of the television or the chatter in the mind? What happens if you rush into your car and into work each morning without pausing to smell the air and notice that the clouds have parted just so to let in a rare ray of sunshine in an otherwise grey day? Gifts are given to us on a daily basis, as are opportunities to delight in sound, sight and sensation, and too often, we miss it because we haven’t the patience or discipline to pay attention.

In a yoga retreat, a fellow participant said something during a dharma talk about contentment that always stuck with me. She said that it’s partly about “knowing when you’re content.” We need adequate time and space – thoughtful space – to reflect and say, “this is a great moment.” Without that freedom of headspace to acknowledge beauty when it makes it appearance, or to celebrate joy when it comes fleeting into our hearts, we might never find happiness.

As I pack my life with greater and greater goals, I want to leave enough space to re-unite with these gifts. To permit enough time in my day to pause and look out the window, or to silence myself long enough to notice the beautiful simplicity in the hum of the washing machine, a beautiful quilt on the bed, a kitten bunking down upon said quilt to prepare herself for an evening snooze.

I’ve often blogged about simple pleasures and readers have often chimed in, freely celebrating the humble but satisfactory joys in their life. But I think it goes beyond the ability to enjoy frugal luxuries. It’s about actually deepening an awareness and appreciation for what life already is. It’s about giving yourself the freedom to acknowledge that you might already be happy.

6 responses to “The pursuit of happiness”

psychsarah May 3rd, 2011 at 10:11

Beautifully stated.
Nancy May 4th, 2011 at 12:58

Another poignant post to remind me of the importance of creating time to acknowledge these simple, profound, everyday gifts. How easily we forget.
I’m going use this post as the subject of my upcoming yoga dharma talk. With your permission I’d also like to use some of your quotes in this piece. I couldn’t say it better…

Thank you. The world needs more of this!
Michael Duhaney May 5th, 2011 at 01:14

Hi Megan,
Nicely said. Just reading this post one can effortlessly feel the simplistic nature of our surrounding. The silence around and within that beckons us is truly sweet when we can slow down to join its rhythmic beat.

While reading your post I was also reminded of my teacher Prem Rawat who travels the world to share is message of peace. Here is a link to a “Words of Peace” TV broadcast http://wordsofpeacetv.ca/ Love to hear your thoughts.

Nancy shared your blog with me.
With appreciation and love,
Cheers.
Francesca May 9th, 2011 at 03:50

You hit home for me there. Especially with your sentence ” the line of your partner’s body “. I love your blog. I will be sure to add to my favourites, thank you.
The Happy Domestic May 9th, 2011 at 10:23

I saw your blog post title and did a double take, as I wrote a post last year with the same title. It’s good to see other people thinking outside of the commercial box. Here’s the link to my take on this subject: http://thehappydomestic.blogspot.com/2010/08/pursuit-of-happiness.html
Saver Queen July 10th, 2011 at 13:09

I know that this comment is coming much to late, but I did want to sincerely thank everyone for their lovely comments to the blog.

And Michael, a special thank you for sharing that link. I too believe that peace can be cultivated within, which can be our starting point to sharing peace and cultivating it with others, and with the world.