Last week I read something, just one phrase actually, on my twitter stream. It said, "allow happiness". I clicked over to the link and read a short little article about happiness being our natural state and that we need to let go of the expectation to be stressed and miserable, which is our culture's natural state.
Allow happiness. I can't get that phrase out of my mind. I got to thinking about the act of being happy, and the fact that it really is only me that can make/allow that to happen, the happy.
The word allow is such a profound way of thinking about happiness. It is such an unobtrusive act, to allow something. It feels like a giving in, a form of acceptance, an opening up to. Is allowing something the same as quelling what had been a fight against the same thing?
I'm not saying I haven't been happy, it's just that I have never ever been this happy. So sometimes I find myself doubting my good fortune, worrying that all of this new found happiness is somehow unreal, too good to be true, and wondering when I am going to wake up to the familiar pains and struggles that were my twenties.
Yesterday, it snowed for about thirty minutes. MyGirl and I were in the middle of cleaning her cyclone of a bedroom together and of course she wanted to go play out in the snow. I didn't have the heart to deny her snow when it is such a rare occurrence here in the Portland area.
So out she went into the snow, while I was busy being frustrated about all the weekends MyGirl had said she was cleaning her room when really she was shoving fabric, art supplies, polly pockets, and Archie comics under her bed and under her couch.
Then I remembered that phrase, "allow happiness". I ran upstairs and pulled on a winter coat and hat and slipped on my puddle jumpers. And, we were both incredibly happy out in the snow together.
I drew the words in my sketchbook, as a way to etch them into my mind.
5 thoughts:
Allow happiness. Wow. That sounds so much easier than *trying* to be happy.
I love the idea that happiness is our natural state. I, too, worry that the happiness I've found in my life is unreal, and that I'll return to the way I was in my twenties. But if feeling good is a natural state, then maybe you and I don't have to worry so much. :)
Your daughter is hilarious. She sounds just like me at that age. And at this age. A couple things that help me -- and yes, sometimes I feel very much like I'm raising a kiddo -- is to set a timer and clean for, say, 20 minutes at a time. Perfect for short attention spans!
Another thing I do is make organization fun -- I get all kinds of empty food containers and shoe boxes and label them so I always know where to put things. Sometimes I'll include pictures on the labels.
I also try focusing on one corner or section of a room at once. I kind of divide my studio into quadrants and tackle one at a time.
I hope that helps! I'm honestly the messiest kid I know. ;)
Enjoy it!...I too find myself wondering when the wheels are going to fall off things bc it seems to good to be true. But, I'm learning to accept it...it feels so much better than being stressed.
Your lettering is amazing! Such wise words - so simple yet so important - allow happiness. Thanks for sharing!
Sarah- What great ideas for her room! The one day cleaning spree has now turned into day three...ugh. But it will be nice to have a clean slate.
Chandra- Cheers to being HAPPIEST!!
Carolyn- Thanks, your art is also amazing. :)
Wonderful story. Bravo to you for allowing happiness. :-)
Beautiful lettering too... wow.
happy CED! xoxo
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