Inner Simplicity
I think the number one reason why most people even think about simplifying their lives is to attain some level of inner peace and contentment. They have tried all of the outward trappings – new cars, new houses, wardrobes, careers, relationships – and found that while those things can bring some joy and satisfaction, the positive feelings are only fleeting and they can also bring added stress and gets exhausting. I know exactly how all of that feels like. Always looking outside of ourselves for happiness is indeed exhausting. The search is just endless.
How much richer it’s going to be if we feel joy and contentment inside of ourselves first, before seeking pleasure outside. Then we can be more selective about choosing our outside pleasures and those choices will come from a place of inner strength, not as a temporary “fill-up” for emptiness. We are left wanting more when we spend all or most of time seeking outside pleasures and neglecting our inner selves. We do not know what the “more” is but we are vaguely aware that something is missing.
Rethink Success
If you want to lead a truly fulfilling life, then you may need to start by rethinking what constitutes success. Traditionally in our culture, success has always meant driving a brand new or a late-model luxury car, carrying around numerous credit cards, wearing designer or branded clothing and jewelries, and living in a big fancy house.
There is no question that we have all envied people who had those things, thinking their lives must somehow be better than ours. Well think again. Many of the people hauling around those outward trappings of the good life are actually in debt up to their ears and are simply renting a lifestyle they cannot afford. Stories abound everywhere about the highly paid executives who seem to have all of the above until they lose their jobs or some calamity happens in their lives. They not only lose these material badges of prosperity, but they often lose their identities as well. When you spend the majority of your life working in order to furnish your outward appearance, then you are likely spending very few hours thinking about the deeper meaning of your life – and who you really are. Is success really working around the clock just to keep up this image?
Have Coffee With Me
Someone asked me why does it seem like I am always “happy”? Gave that person really simple answers. I share the “answer” freely with anyone who asks. It’s not a secret. If you want to know it too – then have coffee with me.
But if you don’t have the time to have coffee with me, let me share some thoughts with you today:
- Always have a care-free, relaxed, gentle smile.
- Don’t be pretentious.
- Live in the NOW.
- Look on the bright side. These awesome world is for you as well as for your neighbours, so make the best out of all your experiences. In a situation instead of pointing out the bad things – note the good things about it.
- Do what you want to do. Just make sure that you are not hurting yourself or anybody else in the process.
- Don’t try to become popular. What’s the point? People can smell desperation from a mile away. If they think that you are trying too hard, they may/will want to push you around for fun just to see how far you will go.
- Have faith in yourself. Remember this: no one can take away your faith in yourself. If you lose faith in yourself, then why should anyone else have faith in you?
- Worrying solves nothing – if it’s that big a deal then make a plan and fix whatever it is that is bugging you. Simple as that.
- Keep in mind that life is way too short to care what others think. If they are low enough to criticize you then their opinion is not worth valuing.
- If someone makes a rude gesture towards you – ignore them. It makes them look stupid. Trust me on this.
- Replace all your worries that are about what other people think about you, with a preoccupation over your own goals, your own achievements and your progress.
- Practice Yoga. Meditate.
So these are just some of the stuffs that I try to live everyday. Remember that happiness is not hard to find. You can actually enjoy your life and make the best out of every situation. If you are truthfully happy then other people will not be able to bring you down with their judgments. If other people are truly happy, then you will not be able to bring them down with your judgments. Do not forget that it works both ways. Remember also that experiencing happiness is the definition of success in life.
Want more? Have coffee with me.
I am wishing you all beautiful readers/stumblers of my blog: Inner happiness. Peace of mind. Contentment. Love. Peace. Happiness. Blessings.
Manila, Kabankalan, Bacolod Weekend
Last June 4th to 6th I had one of my most exciting weekends ever! Just sharing my photos here. We had lunch at Rack’s with Ms. Janette Toral at Racks (SM City North Edsa). We checked out the mall then chilled out at Krispy Kreme before going to Quezon City Circle to meet with my cousin Jinky. After that we went to Bonifacio High Street to meet with Monica. Had dinner at Gerry’s Grill and coffee at The Coffee Bean. That was a super packed weekend! It was nice catching up with some of the most important people in my life.
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Mary Jane's Niche by Mary Jane Cabrera is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.