We’ve all seen and heard advice, instructions, and strategies about how to be happy.  There’s an endless supply.  There are infinite ways of changing perspectives.   There are countless exercises to do, mood elevating foods to eat, parties to attend, things to buy, every kind of distraction to disappear into.  There are pets to pet, family and friends to appreciate, love to share.  There’s uplifting music to listen to (my specialty), gratitude to feel, generosity to give.  There are prayers to recite, chants to sing, meditations to enjoy, journals to write.  There are goals to work towards, games to play, memories to cherish, creations to birth.  There are dances to dance, mountains to climb, beaches to comb, meadows to meander through, hammocks to swing in.  This could be pages long if I attempted to list even a tiny fraction of all the possibilities. 

It’s pretty easy to be happy in the smooth zone where the waters are calm.  But what happens when you find yourself despondent and all of the possibilities for happiness just seem like faint, distant burdens?  Maybe you’ve lost a spouse or have a child diagnosed with a fatal illness.  Maybe you’re experiencing your own downturn, economic or otherwise.  Life equals challenges.  What then?

I can share with you what I’ve done in my darkest hours.  I’ve used every means at my disposal – tried anything and everything I could think of that made sense to me at the time.  Friendships have sustained me over and over again and provided encouragement and support when it was most needed.  So have many of the things listed in the first paragraph.

What about the art of being patient?  We’ve all heard that “time heals all wounds.”   I’m not sure about the healing of ALL wounds.  Life and its wounds are probably too complicated to distill into such a simple formula.  But waiting, just waiting patiently with acceptance of what is can be very powerful.

So can taking action.  Any action or actions that support healing and encourage happiness will do.  I’ve learned to keep trying, moving forward.  When something’s working go for it.  When it isn’t, move on to the next possibility.  Isn’t happiness what we’re all striving for?  Maybe it’s only by its opposite, by experiencing the contrast that we can fully embrace and enjoy the happiness that lives in us all.

What makes you happy?