The Coherent Life: Be Happy Now!

Friday, August 30, 2013

Be Happy Now!

I’m a hopeless romantic; I love walks on the beach, the beauty of a sunset, and the adventures of life. But as a young man I wan inconsolably heartbroken whenever a girl broke up with me (which was often). I would be so depressed and cry and just be in a terrible state of suffering. I was a tragic poet writing about the pains and torment of love.

But then one day after one of my breakups I had an epiphany, an enlightenment, an awakening. I realized that I would always have problems in my life no matter what. There’s no escaping problems and obstacles in life—they are an inherent part of life.

So I realized if I was always going to have problems I might as well enjoy them. I might as well welcome obstacles into my life. I challenged life to give me more problems. “Life,” I said, “give me more!” “Life, give me more!”

That became my motto, my rallying cry whenever I was feeling beaten up by life and problems. “Life, give me more!” I would sometimes scream in anger and tears. I knew that I could handle anything that life threw my way; any problem, any obstacle, any heartache.

Not only could I handle any problem, but I could do it with happiness and confidence. Isn’t that what life is all about, being happy? Who wants to go through life miserable and unhappy? Apparently lots of us because that’s how we live our lives!

We say that we’ll be happy when we get that perfect job, or when we meet Mr. or Ms. Right, or when we have X amount of dollars—It’s always something in the future that will make us happy, it’s not about being happy right now. Why not be happy now?

Being happy now made sense to me. I call it living a coherent life. Coherent means to make sense of be logical. Isn’t it logical to be happy now, in the present? The present is all that we have—the past is gone and the future never arrives, it’s always in the future. But we have right now and right now we can be happy if we choose to be.

“No, I can’t be happy now because I have problems. My wife and kids hate me, my job is a dead end, and I can’t afford a vacation.” We have learned a different set of logic rules—if something bad happens you have to be unhappy. If you have problems you have to be depressed. You can’t be happy if you have problems—what will people think?! They’ll think you’re crazy!!

But it’s your life and your choice to be happy, sad, or whatever. I choose to be happy whenever I can and I try to help others to learn how to do the same. I want everybody to be able to face problems and obstacles head on and say, “Life, give me more!” I want people to be happy every day of their lives. I want you to be happy now!

Doesn’t that make sense?

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