Follow Those Bread Crumbs

I am always reading emails about how to be happy, or successful, or some other state of being that requires me to be something I think I am not already. The information is not generally bad, but I wonder just how useful it really is? Anytime I begin believing that I must go outside of myself to be happy, or content with myself, I am asking for trouble.

It seems to me that the most important thing a human being can do is to be content with who they are and I mean in a deep down, this is the way I was born understanding of their own needs. When I tell my grand daughters they already have everything they need, I mean it. Each one of us is entirely different, no matter where we come from, or who people tell us we are. Only my own senses can truly gauge how close I am to myself.

I don't know how to explain when I know I am on the right track. Contentment and joy are like light, they come in a gazillion different shades and intensities. My sense of well being increases with some more than others. These are the ones I want to pursue and it seems to me they are also the ones that are the best for me.

Other things do not provide that full bodied feeling of satisfaction. They may start out feeling good, but eventually something darkens that joy. There are a gazillion of these too. Everything from over indulging in necessary things like drinking, eating, shopping, or taking medications, to over doing other things like too much running, or working, or giving, yes even giving can be over done, can cease to bring contentment, or feel fulfilling. Once it becomes a driving force of its own, I am no longer at the center and I become lost in it. When it stops feeling really good, I need to modify it in some way.

It is a natural thing to want to be around others of like minds, but if those minds are only commiserating with each other, if they are mostly sharing their problems instead of their joys, things are not likely to get any better. Joy is generally the result of successes. It becomes the bread crumbs leading back into the sense of well being we are born with.

Not everything is fun, but fun is an excess. Some tasks, like education, or saving money, or cleaning things up, are a necessary means to an end, but eventually if life is not filled with more pleasant things than unpleasant ones, it makes sense to admit I am on the wrong road. It is not enough to do something out of duty. It needs to be done out of love. If I can't find the love in each action, I need to look at it and ask myself why?

Being human I have a tendency to become defensive and try to justify my actions, but that is for the world. I cannot fool myself. In the long run only I know if I am truly content, or just going through the actions. Why settle when it is possible to have so much more?

It only makes sense to put some quality time and thought into being a happy, contented human being whose life balances a little more heavily on the joyful side, but remember that the fulcrum is inside, not outside.