“We can smile, breathe, walk, and eat our meals in a way that allows us to be in touch with the abundance of happiness that is available. We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
All of our lives we have been trained to work toward our goals and look toward the future to fulfill us. But we have been chasing after an illusion: it is not the reaching of a goal that makes us happy. It is the enjoyment of the present moments on the way toward reaching a meaningful goal that fulfills us.
It sounds so simple, but it takes work and retraining to live life in a way that lets us focus on and savor each present moment. I am still practicing, but I am able to enjoy more and more moments, little by little, every day. I hope you get to take a moment, too, to smile and breathe, on the way towards your goals. You don’t have to wait – you can find happiness right here, right now. ♥