Dear Joshua,
I want to be happy here - not more so on vacation but all the time. I'm fine and I'm quite content, but I want to be happy (and wealthy). I've spent quite a bit of money these last three weeks. I would like to either stop the spending or (and I'd prefer this) see an increase in cash coming to me so that I can keep spending on things. I could write a list of the things I still want right now: an identical lamp to go with the one I just got, repair the screen of my Ipad, a rucksack, etc.
None of these are essential and I could probably get them eventually if I still want them, but I'm feeling I have to slow down for the moment. I like knowing I have money in my account. I'm looking forward to reading the book on Money, relationships, health. And the one Gary is writing now on weight (I love the comments on urges and not acting on them - and the simple comment you made to me once of calories in / calories out).
Kate
Dear Kate,
What is happiness? It is your natural state of being when you are free from the influences and pressures of your society. In a natural setting, you would just be happy. So then, if your natural state is happiness (and ease, and joy, and interest, and wellbeing, and love), then what is it about your busy life in the middle of a busy society that makes it hard to be happy? You are simply distracted by the world around you. However, you came for the fun, adventure, and excitement of these distractions. You came to expand through contrast and to define your desires. That is exactly what you are doing.
If you want to be happy, then you simply must remove your attention from anything that causes you to feel a little conflict, angst, or stress. That's not easily accomplished is it? Okay then, all you have to do is learn to reframe the things that cause you grief (or worry, or concern, or negative emotion) in a way that allows you to be happy. It's one or the other. Either you shut out the things that cause you to be unhappy or you look at those things from another perspective.
In reality you are extremely happy. You have everything you really want and need. You have love, and wealth, and health. You have it all. You have a list of one hundred things you appreciate. You have a job, a home, and some nice relationships. This is all you need to be happy. The only reason you think you aren't happy is because your definition of happiness is flawed. You believe that to be happy you must be free from fear, worry, and concern. To be happy, you must be secure. However, if you were free from worry, fear, insecurity, etc. you would find yourself incredibly bored with life and you would engage in some activity that brought up fear, worry, and insecurity. It's just how the system works.
We have used the example of paradise many times before. If you lived in paradise, free from the everyday fears and worries of your present life, you would grow tired of it all within a few days. You would miss your home, your city, and even your work. You enjoy the challenge and the contrast. You like figuring it all out. It is part of the fun of life. Certainly, you engage in too many thoughts of worry, yet this does not prevent you from being happy. You are happy, you just aren't acknowledging it.
This is a common trait among humans. You all strive for more just as you intended prior to birth and then you complain about all the minor details and all the stuff that has not yet arrived. It's simply a matter of focus. Focus on why you're as happy as you are and the Law of Attraction will bring you more reasons to be happy.
Joshua
