Sometimes our lives are so busy or self-absorbed that we do not stop to feel other people’s happiness—or even our own. What a sad way to waste one of life’s greatest gifts! Those moments are to be enjoyed like a good wine, with all our senses, savoring every moment and allowing them to fill our mind and heart. Surely, you wouldn’t drink a glass of excellent wine as if it was water.
If you stop and pay attention, you’ll surely find expressions of happiness all around you. And they don’t have to be noisy explosions of joy. It could be the smile of a relative, a friendly gesture from a co-worker or the warm hug of a friend. When that occurs, stop for a moment to take in the experience. If you want to make it a conscious act, breathe and allow that happiness to come deeper. Most likely you’ll feel better afterward.
As you cultivate your empathy, try to widen your circle to include others. They could be people you know, a neighbor or someone you see frequently but whose name you ignore.
See if you can feel their happiness and do not forget to look out for what happens to you in these instances. Recently, I heard about an interesting exercise: spend the day seeking expressions of happiness in others, and smile every time they appear.
And of course, along with those moments of happiness and joy, there is also pain and suffering. Life is this and that, laughter and tears, good and bad; everything is always changing.
Also, if we imagine this joy as an emotion that we share with the people around us, we could see that there is an invisible thread that unites us all: a network whose energy feeds us and makes us grow.
Eli Bravo is the Managing Director and Chief Editor of Inspirulina, a Spanish content website with articles on wellness, personal growth and health. ■
