On The Road to Happiness

Did you know that January 15th-21st is Hunt for Happiness Week? To mark the observance, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about one of my favorite topics so, imagine what this life could be if we all (consistently) did the things we enjoy most. Then we would all be happy…perhaps. What if we had proof that what we hope for will actually happen? Then we’ll be happy…maybe. Happiness is so much more than a single event or acquiring various possessions. It’s ethereal. We can’t touch it, but we feel it deeply and unmistakably in our souls. At one point or another we have all said, “I want to be happy”, “I’ll be happy when…”, “If only I was happy” or we may say “I’m not happy”. What we really mean is “I’m not satisfied”, “I’m not fulfilled”, or “I don’t feel productive”. We can feel this way because we are not operating in our gift and living our true purpose.

On the road to happy we must get inspired. Think for a minute. When was the last time you stepped outside of your comfort zone? Or better yet, when was the last time you did something for the first time? None of us were put on this earth to do meaningless work for 10 hours a day, sit in 3 hours of traffic, eat the same boring meals over and over, and cultivate pointless relationships. Yet so many of us spend the majority of our existence doing just that, having lost sight of the dreams from our childhood. Let’s go back in time. What did you want to be when you grew up? What did you grow up to be? What happened to your dreams? Were they deferred or discarded?

On my way to work, I used to drive past two cemeteries, one larger than the other. I wondered how many of those people fulfilled their true destiny and are now resting peacefully knowing that in life they did the work they were called to do. Or did they listen to the naysayers and let fear and doubt cloud their vision. Were their dreams deferred or discarded? We’ll never know.

©Tasha D. Manigo-Bizzell