Ways to be Happy

I'm reading a book that says that the way to be happy is to "Improve your reality & Lower your expectations". I think that is rather difficult. It is important to be realistic - life is full of ups & downs. Sometimes the downs are dreadful. Very occasionally the ups can be wonderful. None of us has the right to expect a life that is truly blessed all the time. What is important is that we learn the lessons life gives us & understand that most people can & do deal with anything. Generally there isn't much choice but to deal with it. But everytime you come through, it gives you confidence that you can cope the next time. 

I do think that it is really helful to understand the importance of pleasure & enjoyment. I don't mean owning things, spending money or being selfish & hedonistic. There are lots of things that make me happy, in no particular order;-

• Clean, fresh cotton bed linen.
• Going to bed & reading a good book before sleeping - in fact just reading anytime
  
• Seeing the plants I have planted in my garden come back every year. 
• Being with good friends & family
• Swimming lengths
• Enjoying a nice meal I have cooked
• Being independent & comfortable in my own skin
• Being solitary but not lonely
• Learning & researching new things
• Going to art exhibitions
• Listening to music

I could go on. 

I think that the important thing is to accept ones reality. It is what it is. Often I cannot control it. Currently I have a Fibromyalgia / Arthritis "flare up", my knees & hips are stopping me from walking far. I have learned that being angry, frustrated or frightened of pain that affects my life doesn't help. I do try to deal with the symptoms though. So I am trying to improve my reality, but I have lowered my expectations about what I can do. It is annoying to have to cancel things that I was going to do, but continuing to force my body to do them would only exacerbate the symptoms & prolong the problem. Age does bring compensations - acceptance is one of them.

It isn't true that we only use 10% of our brain capacity  https://mcgovern.mit.edu/2024/01/26/do-we-use-only-10-percent-of-our-brain/  Neuroscience has disproved that fallacy & we now know far more about our brain & how it works. Our brain generates our thoughts. That is what we have to learn to control. How we approach our life influences how happy or discontented we are. Positivity & self belief is important.

In the words of Monty Python - "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"