Happiness…it’s right in front of you!

Happiness…it’s right in front of you!

It's Thursday morning, and as I watch the hordes of workers walking down the city streets and heading into their Sydney CBD offices and jobs, I don't see many smiling faces. Now obviously I don't know what's going on in their lives but surely, our of the hundreds that have passed by in the last 10-15 minutes, not all are going through crises at the moment…but that's what most of them look like!

As most of you would well be aware I'm not a "rah-rah", motivational speaker type of happiness guru. In fact many people are often quite surprised when they meet me (in the real world) and discover that "Dr. Happy" is actually quite a calm and quiet type of guy. But that's my favoured type of happiness; I like excitement and I certainly appreciate joy but I tend more towards satisfaction and contentment, pride and purposeful pursuits. 

So I'm not expecting or wanting all these people to go dancing down the streets, smiling and singing about how wonderful the world and their jobs are. But at the same time, surely many of us would be better off if we spent those few minutes walking from the bus or train to our offices enjoying and appreciating life and our surrounds. It seems to me, however, that most people don't even notice their life and their surrounds. 

So today's happiness tip is to practice a simple form of mindfulness…be mindful of your factial expressions and whether or not a smile might be possible; be mindful of other people's moods and of whether or not you can influence or reflect their happiness; be mindful of all the good things going on around you and/or the good things you can do to make your world or someone's day a bit better. Because in my humble opinion, more often than not, happiness is right in front of us and we'd be more able to enjoy it if only we opened our eyes and looked!