8 Ways To Happiness: This Moment

"Yesterday is ashes; tomorrow wood. Only today does the fire burn brightly."
- Old Eskimo saying

1) Responsibility
2) Deliberate Intent
3) Acceptance
4) Beliefs
5) Gratitude
6) This Moment
7) Honesty
8) Perspective

6) Live In This Moment Now

Unhappiness lives in the past and the future, there is no unhappiness in the present. What are you unhappy about? Is it about something that might happen in the future or something that happened in the past? When we spend time regretting the past, or worrying about the future, there isn't room for happiness in the present.

What amazed me was the amount of time I was not fully in the present. It seemed like I was always thinking about what was next, or thinking about some event in my past.

Even while engaging in a conversation with someone, I would either be thinking about what they had said, or anticipating how I was going to respond to what they were saying. How many times do we miss vital information from those we love because our minds are elsewhere? Test this for yourself. Become a monitor of your own thoughts. I think you'll be amazed at how often you "aren't really there" with what is happening around you.

"The secret of health for both the mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly."

- Buddha

Many times when we have insecurities and doubts, we have difficulty focusing on what is happening right in front of us. We're thinking about what we said to so-and-so, how we could have handled this situation differently, thinking about what we're going to do if this or that happens, all the while, missing what is happening now.

When you bring your awareness into the moment of now, all worries of the past and all imagined fears of the future gently fade away until all that's left is the vivid experience of the present. It is in this state that you actually start to see life. You'll see colors you never saw before. It is in this awareness where appreciation grows.

Happiness is not experienced in the past or in the future. Happiness is always experienced in the moment. If you are waiting to be happy sometime in the future, you might be waiting a very, very, very long time.

next: 8 Ways To Happiness: Honesty