Happiness Practice

These days it seems changes, big and small, happen in the moment, and more frequently. I often find myself holding my breath, waiting for the other cosmic shoe to drop.

I have noticed that people who accept unexpected change as a matter of course rather than (like me) a targeted assault are happier.  

Getting older has made my attachment to a desired outcome hard to relinquish. Thus, I am often a mess of disappointment and/or anxiety. But I woke this morning thinking hard about the happiest people I know, the ones who take a crappy weather weekend at the beach and turn it into board games and dance parties effortlessly, without first passing through let-down and steely resolve to get to a good time, despite.

I realize how tightly I hold my life, chronically poised for possible disaster. I think about how happiness is just as possible, if I give up the brace and lean into grace.

Today, I decided, I’m here to practice.