I Learnt True Meaning Of Happiness When I Set Myself Free
Andrew Murphy | You are confined only by the walls you build yourself.
“What is happiness?” I always asked this question to myself but never got an answer until the day I set myself free. I’ll take you back to the day when I removed all the boundaries that I had created around me for all these years. The day when I gave myself a chance to explore me and understand what it truly means to be happy.
I was going through a rough patch in my life and nothing seemed right to me. One day while working in the office, a thought came to my mind – “Solo Trip.” I never travelled solo before that so I was a bit scared but then, what could have been better than this to truly understand yourself and find the happiness that I have been looking for. I chose a remote location, far away from the chaos of life. The moment I reached that place, I felt alone, I felt miserable, I even thought of going back, but that was surely not an option. I plugged in my earphones, put my journal in the bag, and got out of the cottage I was staying in.
As I started walking without having any destination, I started feeling happy. I walked for a few miles and stopped by a beautiful sight. There was a lake which was lit by thousands of stars in the dark. I sat by the lake and took out my journal and started writing something I had been planning for a long time. The happiness that I felt while writing all those words was something I never felt before. I felt light, all the burden that I had been carrying on my shoulder all those years seemed to be gone. And at that moment, an intense and overwhelming sensation came to me. You can call it an epiphany or spiritual awakening because at that moment I realized that “Happiness can only be felt when you set yourself free.”
Although that feeling lasted for a few hours, it opened up another mindset for me. I learnt how little things can make you happy and feel good about yourself. All you need to do is open your heart and accept things the way they are. Before that, I only used to see life with a negative perspective, but being there, I learnt that there’s a positive side to even the worst situation; all you have to do is widen your perception and look for the good things. Life is too short to hold on to the past, I learnt that it’s okay to move on and give other people a chance.
Earlier, I was a person who wanted to have control over everything that was happening and about to happen in my life. But now I don’t try to control everything that is happening around me, now I enjoy the beauty of uncertainty, I welcome everything that comes my way. Before taking that solo trip, I was busy doing what I believed to be pursuing happiness, but I was actually missing it. Now I slow down to appreciate the small things around me and feel happy.
I smell the air, feel the wind around me, watch the sunset, and look at the endless sea. I have now also learnt to pay gratitude to all the little things happening in my life because it is another door opener for happiness. The definition of happiness is different for everyone, but what I have explored so far is:
Happiness is when you let your thoughts run free…
Happiness is staying in the present…
Happiness is exploring yourself each day…
Happiness is a way to see your life…
Happiness is doing everything that you enjoy…
Happiness is having something that keeps you going…
Happiness is being in a serene and calm place…
Happiness is experiencing uncertainty…
Happiness is leaving space for little moments of joy…
Happiness can’t be felt until you slow down to look at it, feel it, taste it, and smell it. Life is too short to feel unhappy about everything around you. Enjoy what you have got, set yourself free, stop creating boundaries around you, let the happiness seep into your life!
Authored by Adam Jackson
“Adam Jackson is associated with Assignment Prime as an academic writer from last 3 years. He takes immense pleasure in helping students with their assignment writing tasks so that they can get excellent grades. Whenever he gets time from work, he conducts talk shows for students to fill motivation and inspiration in their life. He spends most of his weekends reading self-help books.”