Monday, August 12, 2013

Finding the Key to Happiness Part 1: Gratitude


     There has been so much written about happiness and what makes some people live in a perpetual state of contentment, and some people constant grumps.  In reading these articles, and through my own experiences, I see a common thread that really shows us the best road to living the happy life.  Let me just preface this with saying that I am not necessarily a "happy all the time" person.  I have days when I feel sad, frustrated, angry, overwhelmed, and any other negative emotions that come my way.  However, I am not a constant grump either, and if you've ever run into someone like that, you can't help but to feel sorry for them and the miserable cloud they seem to live under.  Negative emotions are part of life, and part of who we are as people, so I don't think you can totally run away from them, but with practice, there are ways to change your way of thinking to allow more sunshine into your life.
     One thing that I see listed time and time again on the traits of happy people is gratitude.  It is recommended to list things that you are grateful for everyday, even if this list is as simple as a roof over your head, a safe place to sleep, and food on the table.  Our culture and perhaps human nature in general gives us the inclination to be very self-focused.  Our daily problems seem less significant when you stop to realize that whatever you are dealing with that day, an unexpected big bill, problems a with a co-worker, hurt feelings, major traffic on the way to something important, etc..., someone, somewhere has it a lot worse and would gladly change places with you.  Sometimes you just need a little perspective.  I am not trying to sound preachy.  Believe me, I grumble about the small stuff, too.  One of my frustrations is lack of time to work on the things I would like to work on, so I get frustrated with things that consume my time.  I found myself grumbling about having to take my car in for an oil change. Is it really some great burden to hand my car keys over to someone who will toil over it in the heat of the day while I sit in an air-conditioned waiting room and page through an outdated magazine or two? Another thing I grumble about is grocery shopping, which some people seem to really enjoy but I simply do not.  Do I really have any right to grumble about having enough money in my wallet that I can go in this gigantic store full of food I buy what I'd like?  Sometimes, it really does take I little bit of thinking adjustment to keep that sense of perspective.
     In the world of art, there are many frustrations, and things that can get us down.  We spend a lot of time trying to learn a new technique, only to have failed results.  We can wake up at 5am, truck all of our wares to an all day show and sell absolutely nothing.  The list could go on and on, and it is easy to let these things turn us into grumps.  We must always take a few moments to realize how truly lucky we are.  My way of dealing with my lack of time frustrations is to be grateful for my creativity and the fact that I have any ideas at all, because it is far better to have too many ideas and not enough time, than to have too much time and no ideas.