Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine,
Under every grief and pine,
Runs a joy with silken twine.
It is right it should be so,
We were made for joy and woe,
And when this we rightly know,
Through the world we safely go.
~ by William Blake
As a kid when I had read this poem, I fell in love with the rhythm of it. Owing to my limited ideas, I couldn’t make much sense out of it then. But now, when I look back and remember this piece of poetry by William Blake, it seems like there can be nothing else truer in the universe.
Our life is full of both joys and sorrows. No one can claim this ever that they have been always happy or endlessly sad.
Sorrow and happiness come and go while making a place for the other, making sure you value them both. You might ask here, what the value of sadness can be in our life especially when we can do fine without it.
Just like you cannot understand how great sunlight can be if there was no darkness of the night or how warmth is if there is no storm or snow frost, you would not have appreciated happiness if you have never faced sorrow in life either.
Eternity of Question
However, deep down when we all know this truth, we all still ask the same questions again and again, “what is happiness?”
How does it feel like to be really happy?
How can I find happiness in life?
All these questions keep fueling people and their minds for ages.
People find all sorts of ways to get happiness in life. And in the course of doing so, they often run behind pleasure, instant gratification, all sorts of things that are temporary. And that is why their happiness doesn’t last either.
Thus, the seeking turns into desperation. And the cycle continues. But how can true happiness be found?
The Way to True Happiness
“This is what you live for, the passion and the purpose of your life. Have you found your Ikigai yet? It is the joy found in living, whether it is your job, volunteer work, your family or your friends. It is what you are trying to achieve from this life that you are given.”
- Ikigai, the Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life.
When the search for true happiness is on around the whole world, the thoughtful and philosophical minds are not resting either.
Finding the essence of true happiness has become the most talked about topic around the world. Books like Secret or the Power of Your Subconscious Mind have been written years back stressing on the fact that it is your mind that creates everything for you, happiness, sadness and even health.
Currently, work on hypnosis, NLP, and subliminal messages are being used to boost happiness in life and to inspire the chance of the perspective to attaining that happiness.
So, if you are currently going through a situation in life that has been proving to be perhaps the most adverse episode in life, then you are in the right place.
Here, in the following points, I am going to tell you about certain ways that can bring you real, genuine and long-lasting joy in life. Take look and I am sure you will feel motivated and inspired.
Practice Gratitude
When you are looking for true happiness in life, it is necessary that you think of starting from yourself.
Think about what makes you grateful today. There is surely something that you are thankful for in your life. You are surely happy to wake up this morning, healthy, alive.
Express gratitude to the universe for that. Yes, maybe you have not achieved yet what you have always dreamt about.
Maybe you are still struggling. Yet you haven’t given up and there is still something to look forward to. There is a goal that is inspiring you constantly to move forward.
Be grateful for your family and friends around. They have been offering you their selfless support and love that is helping you continue your journey. Be grateful to everything that you have and that you count on. They will surely make you happy.
Change Your Perspective of Negative
Negativity is a part of life. As I have commented at the beginning of the article, you will keep facing sorrows in your lifetime.
You will lose people.
You will lose relationships.
You will see disease and death.
You will see extreme circumstantial difficulties that might make you feel you are not going to survive this.
But you always do!
You survive!
You thrive!
The main aim should be here to change your perspective of what is negative in your life. Instead of giving up and drowning yourself in an endless sea of sadness, think about what is the takeaway from the difficulty or the negativity you are facing.
There must be a lesson underneath you may not be able to see right now. But it is there.
Try to find out what life is trying to teach you through it. If you can find this out, you will be able to change your perspective. If your negative experience is so overwhelming that you can’t actually understand the lesson behind it, just keep your mind open and you will get there.
Do Something for Others
Spreading smiles and happiness can be the best way to make yourself happy.
And trust me, this really works.
So, do something for others today. It does not have to be something big. Small acts of kindness will add to happiness.
Make an elder happy with something simple they have been wishing for.
Make a child smile with just candy.
Be someone’s support when they are dealing with their own battles of life and make them find their happiness too.
Encourage someone to follow their passion.
Motivate and inspire. And that will, in turn, make you immensely happy.
Become Positive Thoughts and Affirmation
Take help from different methods. Go for scripting or visualization. Think of doing regular positive affirmations.
Seek help from Subliminal and NLP to change your patterns of thoughts to infuse more and more positivity. Listen to subliminal messages that will offer you thousands of positive affirmations to feel happy.
So, as you can see, finding happiness is not exactly something difficult or impossible for people like you and me. All you have to do is decide whether you want to step forward or not to embrace the life you are blessed with. And you are actually just one step away from finding true happiness.
