It isn’t raining anymore

We often blame the environment around us for the way we feel. I am as guilty as most for saying the weather was getting me down, work is causing me frustration or the lack of something is making me miserable. It is all too easy to believe that happiness and a sense of contentment comes from what is around us. It isn’t.

The key to our feelings is within us and we have to get in touch with that if we are going to lift our mood. If this was easy then we would all be doing it but it isn’t and that is why we spend time surrounding ourselves with things. We buy things, we gain things, and we look to things to make us feel happier. To be fair, when I go shopping then I usually do feel happy but only for a short time. Once the credit card bill arrives I know I am not going to feel happy.

Instead, I know that if I have spent some time in contemplation or meditation then I am likely to have a happiness that is longer lasting. This is also the way that I can build inner resilience to the daily turmoil of life. I will know then that the weather is not really important and will change later or tomorrow anyway. I will be able to see the positive elements of work and I will realise that what I am missing is within me and not outside.

I have blogged many times about the importance of saying thank you and recognising what you have, and of having a positive outlook on life. It seems the simplest thing and yet it is so difficult for us to achieve it. Recently, I have neglected both elements and I have suffered the consequences. If we don’t do any exercise for a few weeks then we feel it physically and it is the same if we fail to exercise our minds in a positive way.

Tomorrow is Monday morning and typically a day for us to feel low and a chance to moan about work, rain or whatever. Perhaps we should focus on gratitude and positivity for the next 24 hours. Let me know if you do and how the day goes.