Happiness and mindfulness go hand in hand.
In fact, they might just be synonyms.
Let me explain.
When are you unhappy?
It’s when you don’t want what will happen to you:
. something is taken away from you that you like.
. something is brought to you that you don’t want.
(In fact, those two are two sides of the same coin.
e.g. you are unhappy when you resist getting old, which is either losing your friends and family, losing your abilities to move, think, and change, and so on. Or it is having pain, being poor…)
It’s when you want to change your past, or when you imagine a future, which you think will not arrive.
It’s when you are so used to what surrounds you, that you don’t pay any attention to it. As soon as it leaves, you regret it.
And when are you happy?
When you are just there. It’s often hard for us to define what happiness is because when we are happy, we’re so absorbed that we don’t think for a long time. We’re just happy.
This is why we can only be happy now. If we aren’t happy now, we’re literally never happy.
(so make sure you create that happiness right now)
What does this have to do with mindfulness?
When aren’t you mindful?
It’s when you are being swept away by thoughts and feelings.
When you’re doing whatever it is you are doing, working, watching TV, drinking, playing games, looking after your children, and at the same time, you’re thinking something completely different.
When you want to change the present moment to fit the way you want it to be, or when you want to prolong it.
A good example of this is listening to music.
Either you don’t like the song, and you spend your time listening to it, but despising it. You want the next song because you don’t like the lyrics, the beat, the feelings, or whatever.
But you do nothing and only complain (instead of letting it be or switching it)
Or you like it so much, you sing along. You don’t want it to end, so you cling to it. When it’s over you are sad, so you put it on again. On and on.
I’m not saying it’s a bad idea to listen to songs on repeat. But if all you do is listen to the same song, you might lose out on other music.
When you are mindful, you listen to the song, you notice all its subtleties. You don’t sing along, nor want a different song, nor want this one to go on forever.
You are just present with the music, for as long as it lasts.
Sounds a lot like happiness, doesn’t it?
And that’s why both might just be the same.
What do you think?
Wishing you a wonderful day,
your happy, mindful David