Last night while I was sitting in my shaman class listening to our shaman teacher, Lionel, I suddenly realised I was happy. Happiness comes in moments, often when we least expect it. Those moments may stretch to a few hours, a couple of days, maybe even months and years. Often we take times of happiness for granted until something happens to rock our boat. Then we mourn the loss of those “happy days”, wondering if we will ever be happy again. But, it’s the awareness of those moments that make us happy, the realisation that even though we may be battling with many challenges, being in the Now and being aware will help you to realise that there are actually many moments of happiness that can lift you and put you into a better space.
An exercise I carry out with my coaching clients is asking them to make a list of “50 Things that make me Happy”. Initially, there are gasps of “Gees, 50 is a lot!” but when they sit down and think about what really makes them happy, they are amazed at the many little, very special things that make them happy. I encourage them to put this list somewhere so they can see it on a daily basis. I ask them to pick one thing a day off that list and do it so they are guaranteed moments of happiness every day or when they are having a really glum day, refer to their list and do one of the things on their list that will take them out of the glumness just for a little while and allow for a moment of happiness to step in.
Here is my list of ’50 Things that make me Happy”:
1. Going for early morning walks
2. Going to the Pretoria Botanical Gardens
3. Spending time with my partner
4. Making spiritual wands
5. Spending time with my daughter
6. Getting letters from my aunt
7. Having my dogs around me
8. Being with my nieces and nephew
9. Sitting in my garden surrounded by all my trees
10. Sitting under huge trees
11. Attending my monthly shaman classes
12. Stroking a cat
13. Working with my life coaching clients
14. A power nap on a Sunday afternoon
15. Having a cappuccino (and discovering that soy milk makes a good cappuccino!)
16. A delicious slice of cake!
17. Writing my blogs
18. My daily cup of coffee
19. Doing Journey Tree readings
20. Having an energy healing treatment
21. Gardening
22. A clean house!
23. Meeting friends for coffee/lunch
24. Flowers
25. Putting on a pretty dress
26. Fresh linen on the bed
27. Hiking in the bushveld
28. Sitting under the stars next to a fire
29. Camping
30. Roasting marshmallows on the fire
31. Doing moon rituals
32. Funny videos on Facebook
33. Having a hot bath
34. Listening to music
35. Swimming in rock pools
36. Going to the theatre
37. Laughing
38. Watching a good movie at the cinema
39. Meditation
40. Solitude
41. Watching the sunrise/sunsets
42. Eating a good piece of fillet
43. Spending time at Random Harvest
44. Watching my clients transform
45. Watching dvds on a Friday night
46. Doing a crossword
47. Cooking
48. Hearing children laughing and playing
49. Reading, reading, reading!
50. Sunshine