Two weeks ago
I received an email from an aquintance. He shared an experience with me
that during yoga class he had been asked to think during the meditation part of
that class about a moment of experienced happiness in the past week or weeks.
He told me that nothing had come up in his mind. It made him very sad.
I told him in
my reply that our environment and marketing have taught us to believe what and
how happiness moments should be. I too many years ago, before my accident and
during the long-term process of dealing with my burn-out, did not see happiness
any more. The last years I discovered - and now I know -, on a daily base I
just passed by this wonderful free gifts and actually was standing on top of them.
I learned, driven by my environment and my own thought process and mindset, not
to see them anymore.
Happiness
does not make our economy happy because you cannot earn money on it. Creating unhappiness
feelings make people buy. Out of my recovery process and also because of living
here in Thailand I am aware that there are dozens of moments of happiness during
a day and it is just a matter of picking them up.
Just to give
you an idea of some of those moments of happiness that many times appear during
my day?
Waking up in
the morning and when I look outside, I sleep with open curtains, the beautiful
daily different reflections of the light and sun in the clouds and the sky. The
soft and wonderful smile on my girlfriend's tinted face. The wagging tail of my
always happy dog when I come downstairs. Ready to jump on the scooter to go to
the forest in search of new discoveries such as the beautiful feather we found this
morning (see photo). It made me happy. The cheerful fantastic sounds of birds
that awaken, night sounds that fade away and the new day sounds that become
louder to serve the daytime.
Or the mirror
lesson of a 'normal' tree that shows me the seasons of life with being willing
to give and receive. Showing the natural cycle of flowering, harvest and
especially the necessary rest to support this yearly process. 'Simply' (?) the
experience of being able to see, feel and breathe. The sleepy greeting of my
neighbor who gives our street dog and her cats food in the morning. The waving
school children in their van on their way to school. The rice farmer, up to his
knees in the mud in the field, raising his arm to say good morning from a
distance to me seeing me with my dog on the scooter in the early morning.
Singing in the church. The joyful reaction to a given small tip after the
refueling of my scooter by a boy or girl from the Caltex petrol station. The kindly
and with a big swing opened glass door of the Krungsri bank by the guard and
his playful 'Good to see you again' with a big smile. The man who is always on
the corner at the traffic light in front of his 'Silly Pietje' shop always
saying something friendly when I have to stop in front of the traffic light.
The almost daily reunion with my two kids on Skype.
An e-mail
from a former guest with a sincere ‘thank you’ for listening and / or paying
attention to him or her. The weekly 'Hello my good friend' of the ‘chicken selling
lady’ on the Friday market. The for Dutch concepts 'crazy' and colorful
clothing that I sometimes wear and in which I feel myself. Just being myself
without worrying about what others (whoever) might think of it anymore ... I
can go on for hours. And ... this kind of happiness does not cost anything at
all?
Open your
eyes and daily increase your awareness of the free available moments of
happiness you are standing on top of. It is just a matter of mindset.
Gangey Gruma (Frans Captijn)
Captijn Insight. Catalyst in developing tranquility & in-sight to get in a sustainable way real connection, purpose, pleasure and flow in life, love, family, business, career and work again.
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