In My Mind’s Zen Garden

Yes, we are definitely in the holiday season once again.

Has everyone bought all their x-mas gifts and what not?

Me, I haven’t even started. But I guess I’m confident, given the number of years experience I’ve had to get this whole holiday season thing right, yet still it can be a stressful time, the weather has changed, people are running around without their heads on straight.

Once, I was at the parking lot at the mall, and saw two cars trying to jam into one parking space. It was terrible. The drivers started yelling at each other. One takes a chance and tries to squeeze past the other driver, and the other driver actually got out and kicked the driver’s side door. He kicked it in, with a LOT of rage behind it.

Well, I’m sure there are many things that we have no control of in our lives. Like aging and taxes. And many of us get depressed (myself included) during the holidays.

With all the commercialism and pressures to get the best gifts for our family and friends, with the skyrocketing costs of gasoline, and food, clothing, and everything else in general. It’s no wonder that when the holidays come along, we are starting to freak out and get stressed.

But, take all this holiday jazz away for a moment, and tell yourself, “Well, if it weren’t for this and that, each day would be as good or bad as the next”, well, it makes me wonder how much mind power we actually have to see things from a different perspective.

Earlier today, I sort of sat here and convinced myself, that with all the problems I was having in my life, and all the problems happening around the world, and despite all the disappointments and regrets and failures in life….. the world is still a BEAUTIFUL place in which to live, and life is just a MIRACLE each day.

So, I told myself that I’m going to be happy, regardless. And somehow I have been quite content with myself. And I feel like I have a bullet proof vest protecting me from all those negative things… they just bounce right off.

I’m actually feeling so good I’m almost beside myself with tears of joy…

If only I could feel this way each and every day. Hopefully, I will have the concentration and the will of mind to do that.

But yet, I can understand that if we have all these expectations out of life and we feel depressed or frustrated when they don’t become a reality, or even if we have achieved a lot in our lives yet we aren’t satisfied and are trying to keep going in order to accumulate as much as we can…

…it just makes one wonder that…

Happiness comes from within… that we make ourselves happy.

And that’s my revelation for this evening. Find the joy within yourself, and don’t expect to find it outside of yourself.

Keep telling yourself… I will myself to be happy. And make that your mantra.