Happiness. Well that sure is an interesting topic for me, especially considering the last couple of weeks I have had. But I do like a challenge and it was because of that, that I chose Happiness as the theme for this weeks question for the wonderful Ladies of Hive Community. Because we all know that shit happens, that life is challenging and that for the most part, life happens to us and we have to find our own rhythm within it.
I can get annoyed, angry, really pissed off at times. But that doesn't mean I'm not happy. Each moment we live, is not a reflection of our overall life, it's the emotions that we choose to hold onto, that really shape us. I have learnt to embrace my anger, to feel it and then to allow it to fuel my actions. Mostly good actions, but sometimes that is hard to do and I end up regretting, what I done. But I am happy to say, that has become rarer these days. Maturing certainly helps, as does taking responsibility, for my actions.
But I am only human and I do slip up and you know what, that's okay. So is being anger and unhappy. It's important to make space for all of our emotions.
There is a lot of pressure, to present ourselves in a certain way within society today, which is mostly, to be happy and cheerful. But at what expense? I get it, when we are at work, we have to act like a professional, especially if we represent a company or organisation. But it's not easy to turn off our emotions and if we do it continuously, then it can be very damaging. We need to make space for expression in our lives, to promote awareness around well being and the whole spectrum of emotions that come with it.
I do consider myself to be a fairly positive person, although over the last few years, I have found that mindset to be a little more challenging to hold onto. Life just seems to keep throwing curve balls, at so many of us and things really seem to be escalating. Which is challenging my optimistic outlook on life. But that is where gratitude comes into play.
Being able to recognize, what I do have in life, my health, the health of my girls, being able to live the way that I do. Being surrounded by a wonderful community, that does look out for one another. Living in a place, where food grows in abundance, and not just what I grow, but in the wild also. To live in such a creative hub, where there are always new and exciting creations taking place.
I can sit in my sadness and still be grateful, grateful that I have learnt to embrace my emotions, to express them. To not sit with them too long, but to find ways in which to honour them and let them go. Yes, it's not always that easy and yes I do sit too long sometime, with my grief and sorrow, but then again I tend to go deeper with those emotions. They are more embedded in who I am.
Then I can transform them.
Happiness, is important, it's vital for our well being. I believe that in order to be truly happy, you need to allow yourself to feel, to feel everything. To find ways in which to express yourself, so that you can embrace what life has to offer. So there is time for sadness and anger, amongst our happiest moments in life.
(All photos used in this post, are mine.)
