4 Ways to be Happy in an Unhappy World

Happiness is such a gift but it is something people often spend their whole life trying to find.

What happens way too often is that we believe that we can somehow consume happiness.
So today I wanted to talk a little about that and to share some tips that have made me happy

1. Comparison: The thief of Joy

2. Detachment

3. Living in the now & Gratitude.

4. Where is happiness found ?

Comparison

“Compare and Despair” I heard a Catholic Nun say recently and I thought that to be so true.

In this Youtube video : https://youtu.be/AuyeH6y84JM?si=LhmepJvC0pDF7OOx she shared some pearls that I would recommend you watch.
However if you are unable- here is what I garnered from it.
She explained how comparison essentially leads us to despair and how to avoid that.

When we compare our weaknessess with another person’s strength or their weaknesses with our strengths. It essentially prevents us from recognizing our own goodness, and also fosters ingratitude for the gifts we do have.

If we recognize that we are all created good and were given different gifts then we soon realize this only makes for a more beautiful life.
We each have something different to contribute to our families and by extension our society.

For eg. There might be someone in your family who likes to iron – A GIFT! because you may not like doing it. While you may like to cook and the other person doesn’t like it. I’m sure life is much happier when they focus on their own gifts instead of comparing.

Detachment

If you grew up with lots of brothers and sisters, hopefully you’d have already learnt this one!
Have you ever left some delicious food in the fridge? Expecting to finish it, only to realize, your brother /sister had already gobbled it up ?

You probably will be upset at first but hopefully you’ll realize soon that this is simply a course on detachment.
It is preparation for the real world.

As we move out of the cell of society, which is the family we realize that the stolen food now becomes a stolen car or credit card.
Getting upset simply has no effect on the other person because they are A) no where to be found and B), they do not care that you have nothing to drive or money in your wallet.

The suggestion here is to detach yourselves from things of this world.
Easier said than done, right ? but it is a worthy practice. One sure to make us happier in this life and to prepare for the next.

Living in the now and Gratitude

There is also this mindset of thinking when I have x, I’ll be happy. We dread the days leading up to what that dream may be. Whether it is a new home or job and we forget to live in the now. Only to find that when we’ve finally reached the goal, happiness seems to have eluded us- almost like goal post that’s been shifted.
Why is that?
If you ask me, I would say living in the now requires a change in the way we think.

It requires a spirit of gratitude for all the little things in life, especially the mundane daily tasks of adulthood.
Learning to live in the now and to be grateful for what we already have helps us to realize that a more extravagant life would be nice but it is not required to be happy.

So Where is happiness found ?

Happiness is found in the moments the world we are living in has abandoned.

It is found in:
Quality time with those we love.

In the eyes of a child.

The 10 mins you get to shower after a long day with your children

In the embrace of a husband.

Sitting with Jesus in the blessed sacrament.

In the Eucharist.

Thank you so much for reading!

Til Next week

Abby