I have a quote that is all mine and it goes like this. ‘We find growth in our storms and happiness in our stillness’.
Let us first approach the happiness part. I find ‘happiness’ easy. I have always lived with the now well known idea, that your happiness is something you find inside of you. It is not to be found in anything or anyone external to you. It is merely your reaction to things external that make you happy or unhappy and that reaction is chosen by you. So, for example, you are sitting in a coffee shop with a friend and you are happy in that moment. You could equally be sitting in that coffee shop making conversation with a complete stranger and be just as happy. Likewise you might be sitting there alone and perfectly content and happy. The other people are not making you happy. You are. Your happiness is coming from you and how you are reacting to that moment.
The same applies to unhappiness. The person sitting opposite you cannot make you unhappy it is merely your reaction to them or something else external that makes you unhappy. You alone control your reaction. Once again it all stems from the self.
Happiness comes from that quiet place deep within you. It is the only place it can be found. Once you have tapped into it it is always available. You breathe deeply and let go of whatever might be preventing you from connecting to that place.
Now to the storms. We all have storms in our lives. Some are short and sweet and immediately afterwards the sun is out again and the air has a beautiful scent. Other times they roll in slowly, thunder around for a bit and move on. Sometimes they gather for days and come with such a vengeance that they destroy everything in their path, maybe even circling around to hit twice. They are destructive and it is many many days before the sun shines once more.
It is during our storms of life that we learn our strengths. We learn that we must bend into the wind in order to survive. That we must go with the flow of the water and not fight to swim upstream, but rather let the water take us downstream until we find a safe place to go ashore. It is in these moments that our own personal growth is greatest. Where we become our own heroes. Then after the big storm we find there is space. Space for something new and beautiful to come in.
It is even in the midst of these massive storms that we can still find stillness. Right there in the centre of the storm is your centre. Your stillness. Your breath. If you are quiet for a moment and take that deep breath you will notice that there is your happiness. It has not gone. It is there where it always is.
Find growth in your storms and happiness in your stillness.
nikivanvelden 