“When
we can’t access out inner resources, we come to the flawed conclusion
that
happiness and fulfillment come only from external events.” ~ Sarah Ban
Breathnach, Simple Abundance
Good
Morning!
I
don’t know about you, but I have made this mistake before. I have spent time
continually looking for
happiness in external events. The
problem with that search is that our happiness becomes codependent. Instead of having a well
to draw on from
within, we require external events to “lift us up.”
Not only is that unfair to the events or
people we are replying upon, it is unfair to ourselves, because the
happiness
we create is conditional.
We
all deserve unconditional joy and happiness within our own hearts.
We deserve to have a sense of internal peace,
regardless of what is happening around us.
The intensity of that happiness might fluctuate with what our external
world offers, but it is there nonetheless.
Sarah
is very accurate in her assessment.
When
we can’t (or choose not to) access our inner resources, is when we look
to the
external to “fill us up.” Because
we can’t
figure out how to create the reality we need, we turn to others and ask
or
expect them to do it for us.
To
break out of that mold, we have to access our inner resources.
We have to learn the skills to turn our
questions inward instead of outward. We
have to accept responsibility that happiness begins right where we are,
not
somewhere outside ourselves.
How
do we do this? There
are many things in
life we can’t or don’t control, but we do control our attitude and our
perceptions. Once
we accept this fact,
we create a space in our life to access those inner resources. We create quiet time,
reflection time. We
engage in activities that promote
self-awareness, self-discovery, and self-reflection.
We feed our souls with positive affirmations
and positive people. We
turn away and
don’t accept the negative into our thoughts and perceptions. We embrace that which
nurtures us, and we
reject the rest.
Your
Turn: Get
out your calendar and schedule
in a space for self-reflection and self-discovery.
Choose to look inward instead of outward in
order to begin discovering lasting joy in your daily life.
Today’s
Affirmation: Within me is everything I
need to experience lasting joy.
