“Happiness is our nature… We have done so much to move away from our natural state that we now need to walk back to that place, slowly and steady, with utter gentleness and compassion.” ~ Aarathi Selvan
A friend told me about this e-course, Happiness is Your Nature: 30 Days to a Joyful Motherhood. (You’d think she would know about my addiction!) Anyway, it is a wonderful exploration for mamas who are looking for mindful awareness (Hello?! My middle name!) to live intentionally, overcome guilt and our inner critic, and purposely embracing the happiness that’s always inside. It’s about really being with our children, embracing what is, and finding joy in their delicious chaos.
As part of a pre-course contemplation, Aarathi asked us to answer these questions in a journal. What is a blog but an online journal right? I had recently answered a survey with these answers:
When I read that this course is for moms who are seekers, who love to be introspective, who want to “take a chance and leap into a world of inner work to receive honest answers and discover the voice of happiness within them,” who love challenges to open to new perspectives, and for those who truly believe there is more to life than running from one goal to another… I knew it was for me.
My intentions: find the calm in each moment, remember to take care of myself and know I don’t have to do it all, appreciate the now. I would like to infuse more joy into the time I’m with my daughter because I want to marvel at her instead of be exhausted by her. I want to allow her to make messes and be loud and crazy (sometimes). I think I try to contain her because of my own need for quiet. And I desperately want to be ok with not having everything crossed off my to-do list at the end of the day.
I wonder if one class can do all that???
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You know that feeling of accomplishment you get when you have completed a goal? You feel good… you are happy. Apparently, we can feel that way all the time! It’s a matter of allowing ourselves to.
When I feel that, I feel like I’m almost floating, like I am limitless. It’s when I’ve been truly seen and loved. That feeling causes me to want to give anything and everything, to do a Gene Kelly routine down the driveway, to smile and hug and lift up everyone else. I am breathing deep breaths, looking for the good in people, and feeling like I could take on any challenge.
Well, we can choose some of those characteristics and behave as if. Smile at people, take deep breaths, think positive thoughts. See what happens.
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One challenge thus far in the course has been to say YES no matter what, two days in a row. The first day, I really just fought it. Everything was a struggle for me and I didn’t feel like much of anything. But the second day… I had fun with it. I said yes to spending my time playing guitar and doing other fun projects, yes to going with my daughter to paint pottery, yes to pizza for dinner and more silly games, and yes to me going to bed early so I could do it again the next day. It was awesome. My favorite part was just enjoying my daughter without being preoccupied with other to-dos. I think part of my willingness came from a good night’s sleep and from being nicer in how I treat myself. An excellent lesson!
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