Keys to Happiness and a Blue Butterfly

Happiness is, more often than not, elusive.

But it really depends on how we define it - or what we think makes us happy.

This morning, I read an interview with Oprah Winfrey. The interviewer had to wait for her to finish a photo shoot with the esteemed Annie Liebovitz, who was very apologetic for keeping Oprah longer than expected. Oprah's response caught me my surprise. She told Liebovitz not to worry. While she was with her, she was fully present to those moments and those experiences. Later she would be with the interviewer, and then she would be fully present in that moment with him, no longer thinking or concerned with the photo shoot. 

This is the first key to happiness I thought, being fully in the moment. Not in the past - and not in the future.

That is not to say that this is an easy task!

Earlier this week, I listened to a webinar where the presenter said something very similar. She noted the past does not exist - it is only a memory we insist on bringing back to life. That memory is not reality. I had this vision of our thoughts being like zombies we resurrected again and again, rather than laying them to rest once and for all!

And herein lies the second and third keys to happiness: The past and the future are not real. Only being fully in the present is. Suffering occurs when we insist on living in the past or in the future.

Living in the present moment and letting go of the past is not easy. At least not for me.

I have been marinating various losses - or perceived ones. Some are more recent, others dating back to a decade. It amazes me how just the thoughts of certain experiences can conjure up such strong emotions, holding us captive in ancient tableaus. In the end, I had to admit, I could in no way ascertain these experiences were what I deemed them to be. I only knew they were my perception of what I believed had been real.

I read another short essay by a yoga teacher who spoke of connecting to her practices to deal with grief. The simple act of breathing and doing a few poses - or communing with nature brought her more fully into the present moment and out of the realm of grief.

I reviewed some affirmations in an article I stumbled upon designed to let go of the past and accept the future.

I reflected on the wise advice of an author who encouraged her readers to accept the present for what it was, simply saying, "It is what it is," and letting go of any associated drama and the thinking causing the suffering. She also suggested that we live grounded in love, joy, gratitude, and peace. Doing so would raise our vibration. For her, these were the keys for true happiness and transformation.

As I swept the deck and and cleaned the wooden furniture, wallowing on perceived slights and rejections, a blue butterfly perched itself on my deck, fanning his wings very slowly and deliberately, but mostly sitting very still.

I was touched by his presence, and thanked him for his visitation and inherent messages, for I knew that blue butterflies often bring messages from the Other Side - from loved ones, and and angels and higher beings. They are symbols of joy, of impending transformation, of hope, and they can even be wish granters.

My blue butterfly remained for a while, offering solace, gently and gracefully flapping his wings with intermittent pauses over a long period of time.

I could almost hear him saying - "Forgive - let go - be here now! All shall be well! Everything you need is already inside."

I thanked him again and again, and when he finally felt I was okay, he simply flew away.



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