Happiness was all around in many forms many years ago through my teenage years and early adulthood, then happiness died for the next 10 years for me. Where did it go? Did it just disappear? Or depart to some far-off land to return ‘one day’?
I recall I had been a bit slow after all the Birthday hype of the month of May, and when May was almost gone, I had been slow at getting things done as I was distracted with happenings in my herb garden. I grew medicinal and culinary herbs, and harvesting was a year-around-event, but nocturnal harvesting had occurred, but not by me nor the canines or our young children. I would sit up nightly watching out our various windows with alternate vantage points waiting to catch someone red-handed or scare off wild animals. Nothing. Since I was awake, I’d make jam, we called it affectionately 1 am jam. From night tonight, I found myself making scones, then the 1 am jam and scones became the breakfast of choice in our household. Wide-eyed kids would wake up to the most delicious smells curling from the kitchen into their bedrooms and we would sit and have a wonderful breakfast together. I suddenly realized I was happy again at this very moment. Even in the moment of staring out the windows awaiting to tell someone off. Preoccupation.
Is it foolish to expect happiness? I noticed my unhappiness when I was overwhelmed and stressed, with little focus.
Just don’t go there?
Does one make their own happiness? Sure, I too believe this, what if your peace and happiness had been forced away from you?
What if the mystery was the solution?
Preoccupation, for me, has been the mysterious key to happiness. There is now a mystery going on in the kitchen at night, I hear noises, items get moved around, and foodstuffs munched. It’s a very different world now though with the canines having passed over the rainbow bridge, and the kids have moved into adulthood and living in faraway lands, it’s a different kind of kitchen mystery and I still find myself making 1 am Jam as I once did 20 years ago.
‘ONEDAY’ is today. The Mystery is to be so preoccupied with BEING YOU and DOING YOU while adjusting within each moment that ‘unhappiness’ doesn’t actually exist. So for me, it’s not about ‘being happy or creating happiness’, the magic lies within the treading where those Angels won’t.
Going where you never thought you could.
Who was mysteriously harvesting my herbs years ago, and who is munching in the kitchen these days? It doesn’t matter! The gold lies within the happiness of contemplating the mystery. What COULD it be?
What COULD your life look like if you go beyond your own thoughts, or what you can imagine? Daily.
Share with me in comments your mysteries, preoccupations, and happiness journeys…I’d love to hear you hacks or trials. Everyone has a story and everyone is important.
xo Dr. Dee
Living Lovingly - The Lifestyle Flippers 