Happiness: why you should give up everything to enjoy something

Every day is full of little happenings that bring us happiness: getting home form a hard day at work and slouching on the couch, a hug from a partner, a call from a friend… it is the little things that are determining factors in our estate of mind. We need these to minimise the hardships we overcome every day.

But do we and should we always rely on these to make us happy?

The ability to enjoy the little things in life seems to have become a rather elusive quality. We want more, bigger and better, and we want it now.

But in order to be able to enjoy every day pleasures we need to have a healthy mind; and we need to be aware that we can’t have everything we want, but that still, we can love ourselves and be happy now.

If we feel guilty because we think we should be doing more important things, how can we notice and take pleasure in the little things that are happening around us right now?

A lot of us spend most of our time doing things we have to do, or things we think we should be doing, and we forget to be happy and do the things we really want to do. Often, we get carried away by the currents of the fast moving world around us, and forget to look inside for the things that truly make us happy.

Waking up early for a barefoot walk on the beach, sharing a homemade meal with family and friends, reading a novel in the garden, soaking in a bath listening to our favourite music… letting go, is what a lot of us are afraid of; losing control and just being for a moment.

We seem to be prisoners of an internal hurry that doesn’t leave us anytime to feel good. This is why sometimes it is a good idea to give up everything for a while, so you can enjoy something.