05/10/2023
So many of us are seeking this abstract ideal of "Happiness" ..... but most of us haven't got a clue what Happiness actually means for us..... Would winning the lottery bring you happiness? Or would it be throwing it all away and moving to the farm in the countryside? Would a promotion bring you happiness or would that come with having perfect, compliant children?
So here's what I think, Happiness feels like it's some abstract, out-there, future thing that I may or may not attain in my life - and that thought is scary. I can't have pure happiness today, this minute, this second.
I can't have happiness because its so complex, but I can have joy. I can take joy in this very second, and the next. I can do things right now that will not only bring me joy but might actually progress me on the path to "happiness."
I find this particularly with my parenting. Our family lives are complicated. There is never going to be a moment when everyone in the family somehow finds a perfect space in their lives at the same time - but they can have joy.
The simple joy of a family walk, the joy of belonging when you all crease up laughing at a family joke, joy in one of your children accomplishing something that they have been struggling with. Those moments are not only attainable, they are there for the grabbing right this very moment.
And that's why I often say, in answer to the question "what do you do?", I help parents find more joy in their parenting. Because if you can find more joy in what you do every single moment of every day, you'll see the incredible amazing beauty of a child who gets themselves dressed in the morning, finishing their homework or finding a way to be kinder to their friends - if you can see the incredible joy in those moments, you'll be helping your child to feel that joy too and you'll be bringing this mythical "happiness" to your family unit every day.
So seek Joy and Happiness will come. xx