I stopped to smell the flowers...

Went out into the woods with my son's Cub Scout pak yesterday morning and just got back. It's amazing how at home you can be with next to nothing in the way of possessions and some fun company. Kind of puts things in perspective...

I have often wondered why we make life so complex, why we put ourselves in complicated situations. Does it make us any happier? Does anything we create make us smile any wider than when we are sitting by a nice warm fire in a pretty spot, breathing in the fresh air and talking with friends? Is our heart warmed by anything we buy more than seeing and hearing the laughter of children while they play? Does anything create an aura of personal peace and contentment more than walking in silence surrounded by all the sights, sounds, and smells that nature has created? And how much did these things cost? Nothing. How hard did I have to work to enjoy these things? Hardly at all. Did I have to "make" any of these things happen? No, other than building the fire, all I had to do was just be there.

I had some of the ingredients for a very happy existence in my midst this weekend and all I was required to do was live simply. It reminds me yet again of how little we really need in the way of "stuff" in order to be happy. However, it is hard for so many to live simply because they think they are missing something or that there has to be more. The fact of the matter is- there isn't. It is all perception. Happiness, peace, and contentment is a state of mind. You can have everything, but as long as you believe that there is "something missing" that is all you will see and you will never be happy. That's why there are so many miserable people who happen to be extremely wealthy and successful and why there are some people who are just getting by who are content with themselves and their life.

Madison Avenue spends a lot of time and money convincing us that true happiness is just one more possession away. However, the blame is not only theirs. We respond the way they want us to and we prove them right. Society shapes the media and advertising, and in turn they mirror back the attitudes and outlooks we tell them we value. It's a vicious cycle and will continue until one of the parties changes. Since there is too much money to be made by the media and advertising for them to stop on their own, it is up to us. We have to change our perceptions and focus on the world as it is, not what we wish it was or what it has been. We need to focus on what we have, what is right in front of us, both good and bad, and not on what we had or what we don't have, what we wish we had or what we think we should have. The world around us is a pretty wonderful place full of some pretty wonderful people. All we have to do is open our eyes, our minds, and our hearts and we will be amazed by what we see.

Find the simple joys in your life and hold them close. In them, you hold the keys to your own happiness.