Happy and Contented
“We
never know how things will turn out. All we can do is maintain our
joy no matter what happens.”
Rabbi
David A. Cooper (God Is A Verb)
Most
of us live on an emotional roller coaster. When things are going
well, we're happy and content, and when things are not going well,
we're unhappy. When challenges appear, because life does bring
challenges of all sorts, we tighten up, gird our loins, frown and
prepare for a fight. We don't like challenges to our equilibrium.
They cause a cascade of emotions from anger, to worry, to resentment
and on down the line. After the challenge passes, and we return to
balance, we once again feel contentment and, if not joy, at least
satisfaction.
This avalanche of emotions represents closing and opening of our energy
centers—particularly the heart center. When we are open, we feel
happy and content, and when we are closed, we feel guarded and
defensive. When we are around people we love and trust, we are open,
and when we are around people who are in some way threatening to us,
and there are many ways to be threatening, we close. But what if we
were to make a choice to stay open no matter what? What if we were to
choose to live with an open heart regardless of what goes on around
us? Would we then be happy and content all the time? Because opening
and closing is a choice we make—either consciously or
unconsciously.
I
know...I hear your skepticism—you can't trust everyone, you should
be guarded around some people, you are never going to like it when
someone you love is sick, or dying. And, you're right! My question is
this; does that mean you have to close your heart? Does it mean you
have to shut down your channel to joy? Or, can you leave it open and
allow yourself to simply feel what you feel?
Rabbi
David Cooper says, “...the pathway to our true destiny is joy.
Indeed, joy and enthusiasm are important aspects of the spiritual
path in many ways.” If we allow every unhappy turn of events to
effect our personal contentment, we will never know what it's like to
be filled up and overflowing with joy. People who are filled with
happiness and contentment have contagious energy—it flows out of
them and affects everyone around them. It's one way to bring positive
change to our world, and to bring enthusiasm and excitement into our
everyday, ordinary lives. Good choice, don't you think?
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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