|
Post by caressa on Feb 26, 2011 20:10:03 GMT -5
What makes you happy? I was asked that question when I went into treatment. I didn't really have a clue. I saw this reading and was going to post it only to find that SG had beat me to it. That seems like a good affirmation that it would make a good topic for the week. For me it is a feeling. Something that comes and goes. It is something I can choose to have. How do I obtain it? I think it is either there or it isn't, it is a state of mind. Family can make me happy and at other times they can cause me a lot of unhappiness if I allow them to. To do that I have to give up my power and allow them to dictate how I feel, which is insanity in itself. I wish I had learned that a long time ago! eor.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=spuds&thread=10636&page=1Being with friends or being alone and not feeling like I have to do anything, I can just be, that makes me happy. To be with someone and not have to fill the silence.
|
|
|
Post by caressa on Feb 27, 2011 7:52:05 GMT -5
DAILY OM
Analyzing The Path Recognizing Happiness
Those of us on the path of personal and spiritual growth have a tendency to analyze our unhappiness in order to find the causes and make improvements. But it is just as important, if not more so, to analyze our happiness. Since we have the ability to rise above and observe our emotions, we can recognize when we are feeling joyful and content. Then we can harness the power of the moment by savoring our feelings and taking time to be grateful for them.
Recognition is the first step in creating change, therefore recognizing what it feels like to be happy is the first step toward sustaining happiness in our lives. We can examine how joy feels in our bodies and what thoughts run through our minds in times of bliss. Without diminishing its power, we can retrace our steps to discover what may have put us in this frame of mind, and then we can take note of the choices we've made while there. We might realize that we are generally more giving and forgiving when there's a smile on our face, or that we are more likely to laugh off small annoyances and the actions of others when they don't resonate with our light mood.
Once we know what it feels like and can identify some of the triggers and are aware of our actions, we can recreate that happiness when we are feeling low. Knowing that like attracts like, we can pull ourselves out of a blue mood by focusing on joy. We might find that forcing ourselves to be giving and forgiving, even when it doesn't seem to come naturally, helps us to reconnect with the joy that usually precedes it. If we can identify a song, a picture, or a pet as a happiness trigger, we can use them as tools to recapture joy if we are having trouble finding it. By focusing our energy on analyzing happiness and all that it encompasses, we feed, nurture, and attract more of it into our lives, eventually making a habit of happiness.
|
|
|
Post by Lin on Feb 28, 2011 5:29:24 GMT -5
There's a quote inone of our alanon books from Abe Lincoln...(paraphrased) "You can be as happy as you make your mind up to be."
I used to think I got my happiness from others. It was nto working. I learned in recovery, IF IT'S TO BE, IT"S UP TO ME. If i feel sad abotu somethign, ask myself if I caused it, can I do anythign to make it better, if som then take care of it. Then if I learn I can't do anythig about that situation, I find something else to occupy my mind that I can find happiness from. It might be playing with the dogs, working a puzzle, playing solitaire on the computer, doing a hobby liek scrapbooking or painting shirts, perhaps sewing. I also know that when I reach out and do somethign for somebody else, I find happiness. It may be making a casserole and taking it to a neighbor. It might behelping out at school during lunch in the cafeteria on my day off. It might behelping my friend who is ill and can't do any yard work or work in her house herself. It might be calling an alanon freind and having a chat. That can often pull both of us from a slump.
Happiness is an inside job. We can make it happen or we can CHOOSE to sit in misery!
today I choose to be HAPPY. LINDA
|
|
|
Post by caressa on Mar 1, 2011 12:19:35 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing the quotes Linda. I am only as happy as I make up my mind to be is so true. I didn't know I had that power. I can remember my mother saying it was my fault that she felt a certain way. It was my fault that she acted a certain way, not knowing I didn't have that power. It wasn't my fault. As I have already stated today, SIN (Soul In Need) means I can not find that happiness within, that I am looking outside of myself to make me feel better. Most times it is little things. We tend to look at things that are 'the last straw' and things negative, instead of adding up all the little things that make up what makes us happy and looking athem with a sense of gratitude. In every negative there is a positive. It has been my experience that things are not ALL positive or ALL negative.
|
|
|
Post by SunnyGirl on Mar 2, 2011 14:48:57 GMT -5
This week's topic makes me happy......
I wake up happy, each and every day, I don't have a lot of stress or turmoil in my life so this helps. My son breaking his ankle does not make me happy, but it's been nice having him stay here with us during his recovery. For every negative in my life, I can find something positive and it gives me a sense of gladness.
"Happiness is appreciating what you have, not getting what you want."
One of my favorite slogans is: "Do you want to be happy, or do you want to be right?" Immediately after saying this to myself, I try to remember, "Will this matter a year from now?"
I try to remember that I need to have some bad days now and then, to fully appreciate just how wonderful life really is.... When you live in the past, you miss the joys of being in the moment.... Happiness isn’t guaranteed in life, I have to make it happen for myself.... O.D.A.T.
Peace on the journey, SG
|
|
|
Post by caressa on Mar 6, 2011 10:50:03 GMT -5
Reminder from Courage to Change: It's time to stop waiting for others to take care of me. The only person who can love me the way I want to be loved is me. "Gradually I accepted the fact that my 'if only' wishes were not about to come true. But I also learned that I could be happy even if they didn't." Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism Reminder from Courage to Change: I will not let fear of disappointment prevent me from enjoying this day. I have a great capacity for happiness. "I want to grow in my willingness to make room in my life for good times, having faith in their arrival and patience in my anticipation." - Living with Sobriety
|
|
|
Post by caressa222 on Mar 9, 2019 1:29:02 GMT -5
Happiness is to be found when I make up my mind to be happy. Tonight,I found happiness at my NA meeting with friends old and new.
|
|