“You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.”
We are bigger than our past, our circumstances and our experiences. Like the sky, we are vast and our future spans out before us. Difficult times pass and so does happiness. Our culture teaches us to seek happiness as a goal or a destination. Many come to counseling because the are “not happy.” Happiness is merely one of many emotions. It would be unrealistic to expect to stay depressed, curious, annoyed or thankful daily for an entire lifetime. Our focus on happiness makes it even harder to hold onto. Happiness can be the giddiness of new love but it can also be the contentment of an imperfect life. Happiness floats away like a butterfly if you begin to focus anywhere but right now.
Mindfulness is the practice of right now. Accepting wherever and whomever you are in this moment. Recognizing that most of the things that make us anxious or depressed are not right now but behind us or in the future. Right now you are breathing and it is good. Right now you need for nothing and it is good. Right now you are experiencing one of many emotions but like the weather, it will change.
“We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy. ” ― Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart: Heartfelt Advice for Hard Times
