Ever felt like this before? When you're not happy you radiate such a mood/aura that you do your best to not allow others to feel happy. Or perhaps you've been around others that lived in this way and it affected you? Although we tend to not want to believe or see the worst in ourselves, for most of us this has been the case for us either in the past or presently. If we are not happy then we do our best to make sure others are also not happy. When this happens so many things fall to the wayside...our relationships, our careers, the animals, the environment, basically the planet as a whole. Sound like I am drawing too big of conclusions?
The thing of it is, when we are happy we do our best in our daily life. We strive towards goodness in our jobs, satisfaction in our relationships, and we do our part with the planet. We care. We want others to be happy. We begin to notice our carbon footprint and take steps to reduce it, we do favors for our neighbors, we donate to the homeless, we become invested in our education system, etc. We feel so good that we want to spread the way we feel. We want others to be happy AND we know that they can be - because if we can do it then so can you.
However, the reverse is also true. When we are UNhappy we lose our ability (or at least some of it) to relate or connect to others, we don't care if we see litter on the ground or if we are using too much water and gas in our daily lives, we don’t care how much beef we eat or the way the cows are treated, and heck we are not going to donate or give anything to the homeless because we deserve the money we work so hard for, and on and on it goes. And no, we don't think about the environmental impact or the fact that most homeless people have some sort of mental disorder. We don't care about the environmental impact of animal agriculture and consume animals irresponsibly. (In Jonathan Safran Foer's book "Eating Animals" he states that "Animal Agriculture makes a 40% greater contribution to global warming than all transportation in the world combined; it is the number one cause of climate change.")
“Therefore, it is important to the entire planet and all that’s in it for you to be happy.””
The fact is, when we are unhappy we do not believe anything or anyone else deserves to be happy or in harmony but when we are happy we allow and hope others can be happy and we do our part to help make that happen. Each of us has so much power inside of us. The way each individual chooses to live hugely impacts the world. Therefore, it is important to the entire planet and all that's in it for you to be happy. Spend time on yourself. Spend energy on yourself. Your happiness impacts the family unit, the friend unit, plants, animals, society, and the whole system. If anyone claims you are being selfish in working on your own happiness they do not understand that in fact your "selfishness" is the most unselfish things you can do.
When each of is deeply alive and enriched in our lives, filled with happiness, the entire world benefits from it and becomes a better place. We each impact the world. It starts with our daily decisions, our daily interactions, and it magnifies exponential as our presence radiates into the world. This may seem scary or strange but truly it is an empowering way to look at life. The magnitude and impact one person can have seems like a far off idea (we are no mother Theresa or Martin Luther King Jr….or are we in our own way and we haven’t fully explored or expressed it?) Sometimes it seems this is just something people tell us to make us feel like we are worth something. Guess what? You ARE worth everything. You matter. Your life matters. Every day every action you take is making an impact on this world. Are you making the impact you want to make? Are you making this world the place you want to live in? Could you be happier and therefore be a better functioning unit for this whole universe?
This is something I am continuing to work on and that I must remind myself of constantly. My life is valuable and my feelings and actions are affecting the world and all this is in it. If I forget this then inevitably I get lost in the whirlwind of what I sometimes see – a fast paced dog-eat-dog world - and when that happens I end up not being my best, doing my best, or feeling my best. Once I slow down, reflect, find inner peace and happiness I realize that the world is in fact moving in the right direction. It takes a perspective shift to notice all the good. I see we are working on making great changes. We are on the right path. You see, it's all about how we feel inside, what we are saying to ourselves, what we believe at our core, our perception of the world that reflects out into the world and in turn is reflected back to us. When we change ourselves and our projections, our reflection changes and so does the universe. We are mighty and powerful. We are strong and beautiful.
You can do it. You can work on yourself. You can shift and transform. You can be happy, and light, and bright. In doing this, you are doing your part in making this world a better place. Today, and every day, is your day. You are magnificent. You are marvelous. This world is better because of you. Let's enjoy this journey together!
