Why Have You Stopped Smiling?

Your First Lesson in Happiness

Do something for me; smile.

Smile for these next few sentences and notice something start changing in your attitude and mind. It's silly isn't is? Smiling without something being funny. Without a camera in your face or someone to smile at. It's not completely natural to smile in a situation that simply doesn't require you to smile.

Are you still smiling? Okay, stop smiling now. Do you notice anything about your person has changed?

The act of smiling isn't just for photos or for laughter. There are many benefits of smiling with yourself but I truly believe that the most important reason to smile at all is; to remind yourself that happiness is much closer than you think.

Happiness, to me and maybe to you too, is not how much money I have in the bank. It isn't the amount of things and stuff in my apartment nor is it the car I'm driving. Happiness comes from a realization that you are absolutely, positively, 100% in control of how you're feeling and the sense that any out-of-body sources of influence aren't effecting the happiness you currently hold.

"But Tony... it's not that simple!"

Yes, it fucking is. Yes, it mother-fucking is.

When you wake up, you choose in that fleeting moment of when your mind and body reconnect, what kind of mood you're going to carry yourself with throughout this new day. You immediately set yourself up to either feel happy or feel sad. It doesn't need to happen as soon as you wake up. Take a breath in for four seconds, hold for two seconds and exhale through the mouth for six seconds. Breeeaaatthhhh.

Don't like waking up and feeling like a turd roasting on the sidewalks of Miami? Fine. Change the thoughts you carry during the day previous and watch how you wake up the next day ready to face the world. Can't shake that depression monkey after a night of partying hard with your homies? Fair, but understand you were the one who chose to drink, who chose to rip bong at 3AM and who chose to not focus on what was healthy for the body in order for the mind to resonate peacefully within it.

Are you smiling? No? *Insert Fart Noise*

Your happiness is not the responsibility of your partner or siblings or parents. You wouldn't plant a flower and expect those around you to care for it, would you? If your answer is yes, your journey toward happiness is much more stunted than you may think. I use the flower analogy when I speak to people because it helps others put perspective toward the growth of their own happiness.

Up until now, many of our ideals of happiness were forms of gratifications that were given to you either by others or by things. Imagine for a moment, that those materialistic things and the validation of others didn't add to this 'false' ideal happiness. Now let's revisit the flower idea. Growing a flower from a seed is much like growing your happiness. It takes time and attention. Taking the time to bring awareness to this part of yourself through mediation or exercise will allow you to give this part of yourself the attention it deserves and let's be real. You deserve to be fucking happy, homie. Don't you? I think so. So let's squash that question and start believing that you truly do deserve to be happy. Cool? Cool.

Are you smiling now?!

I want to relay a message I learned from listening to Deepak Chopra's new podcast called, "The Daily Breath". To paraphrase, he comments on how we are an ocean of awareness that perceives islands of experience throughout our life time. To me; this is a direct link to what makes one happy. If we are oceans of awareness floating on the waters of perception then aren't we in control of how we get to feel toward our experiences?

I don't know much, dude, but I know enough to realize that when I wake up tomorrow I'll the one who is going to be choosing to be a dick or a nice person. For the rest of my life I will continue to try and be a happy, loving and harmonious being full of laughter.

In conclusion, your happiness does not need to be a chore that you need to drag yourself to through. It can be a passive and active thought that you can achieve right now. As you go through your day today bring attention and awareness to your body and how it feels within every moment. Bring attention and awareness to your mind and what you're thinking about today. And lastly, bring attention and awareness to your spirit and how you will feed it's warm light today.

Peace. Harmony. Laughter. Love.

Be kind and be good today.

I mean this when I say it, yo:

I love you.

-TS