There are more than just 10 tips that will help one find happiness. Yet, the first 10 will all refer to connection. How can this be?
Connection, in every religion, science, philosophy, song, novel, symphony, and sonnet, is what organisms need to belong in their environment. Alienation, the opposite of connection, is always a sign of sorrow, pain, rejection, exclusion and, obviously, disconnection.
The answer to every happiness does not come with riches, beauty, fame, brilliance or glory. These are all things that people want in order to have a connection. Yet, one can have a connection, this very moment, by acknowledging it. So number one is to look at the now of this very moment.
One: Look at what you experience at this moment
Are chemistry, vibration, energy and every cell of the body supported by being connected to life through other entities and their chemistry, energy, and matter? Yes. That life flows in the body, and thoughts through one hundred trillion connections in the wired brain, tell that one is connected. Water is within you and external to you, as is air, and every element of creation.
Two: Connect to Nature
Nature, or God’s creation, created human beings to belong as well as every organism, from apples to aardvarks, from zooplankton to zebras. Organisms compete to live, on occasion, but organisms cooperate to live at all times.
Bees and birds pollinate at every instant. Rain forests and roses create oxygen at every instant. Parasites clean and disinfect, internally and externally, always. Yes, life requires death to cycle into more life, but all ongoing processes unfold into life over eons. If life is rare, all the more reason to cherish it.
Three: Connect to the beauty of the living world
Connect to animals that so appreciate kindness from you they will grant total devotion. Connect to the beauty of a forest, mountain, waterfall or even puddle, because water connects you to life, trees to air, beauty to belonging.
Four: Connect to others who also seek love and connection.
I appreciate that others will smile back at a smile. They will listen to stories and they will share their stories and wisdom. Connect with others to dissolve the differences that are likely superficial.
Once common ground is found, connection and belonging are a natural progression.
Five: Connect to the positive things that happened this moment, day, week and month, and do not dwell upon the negative.
Learn from the negative and be grateful for the lessons. Connect to others and share, even laugh, about harsh lessons that are really great steps forward.
Six: Connect with your physicality
Go for walks and take animal friends, young friends, old friends, new friends and even ongoing inventory of interactive animate objects like trees, rocks, hills. Know that nothing is truly inanimate; it connects and creates life as surely as soil creates food, and mountains cycle back to the sea. Know that wonders are there to be investigated, learned from, explored, experienced and enjoyed. Be like Newton on the beach, a child amid a vast sea of creation.
Seven: Know that the state of the world is like the weather
If it looks horrible, wait awhile. Change it for the better by enjoying connecting to all living wonders and dynamic interactions. Know that the laws of attraction, magnetism, gravity and nuclear bonds all come together to make the miracles of all life. Don’t take life and its connections too seriously, however. Life is too important to take very seriously.
Eight: Connect by cherishing and protecting
One can learn to appreciate life, and life will better appreciate in return. Poison, pollute and waste the world and it will treat one the same way, by becoming toxic, sick and alienated. If one would not do it to one’s body, one must not do it to the world. If one would not discard or leave rubbish in one’s own home or garden, one should not leave it in the air, water, soil or any of the astonishing creation that creates and sustains life.
Nine: Connect to the inner intelligence
Connect to inner intelligence and know that every adaptation in nature creates stunning diversity. The intelligence and consciousness of life’s design are full of mystery. The mystery is full of connections to explore and to discover. Start looking closely and find oneself.
Ten: Connect to a greater and wider world
Connect to a greater and wider world by sharing with people all over the world. As people come to find their inclusion and connecting belonging, a new appreciation of life, the universe, and everything becomes more and more clear, even as it is more and more mysterious and mind-boggling. Find others next door, and on distant continents who want connection. “Tell me about yourself.” Reach out.
