Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Happiness Never Decreases By Being Shared

My niece and nephew, who REALLY know how to make a person feel looooooved... 

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
- Lord Buddha

Have you shared your happiness today? Have you let the joy in your heart reach out and put a smile on someone's face? It's so easy with a gesture or a word to change the energy in a room, to change the direction of someone's day. Energy and enthusiasm are even more contagious then lethargy and apathy. Every time we use our own positive energy to influence the life of just one person, for just one moment, we bring a little bit of light and healing into the world. Imagine if we all did this all the time! Our planet would shine like a star.
Even  when we don't feel too bright and shiny we can do this by "practicing the opposite." In yoga it's sometimes referred to as "bhavana" or cultivation of a certain state of mind. In the Western vernacular sometimes we call it "fake it 'till you make it." If you feel sad or out of sorts, don't deny your feelings, but put a little energy (or a lot!) into practicing the opposite and you will feel a shift inside. Share this will another person and your happiness will increase and increase and...