Here’s what happened… On May 25, 2016, my friend Divya was back at work after a trip to South America. We were sitting in her office, talking about her adventure, and out of the blue, apropos of nothing that I can recall, she asked,

“Are you happy?”

I was a bit taken aback, but started to answer by reciting a list of complaints and maladies and frustrations and she stopped me with a smile and said,

“Yes, yes… but are you happy?”

And I realized I was answering the wrong question but didn’t know how to even think about the question she asked. I left her office confused and disturbed and stumbled through the rest of the day feeling as though everything in my world had been shifted a few feet to the left.

The next morning I woke up with the question was still ringing in my ears and guessed that the answer (like most answers) could be found on Goggle. So I asked and the great search engine responded with a quote from the English Explorer, William Adams:

I sent the quote to Divya and thought about its practical implications and philosophical extensions and existential ramifications but as the day went on doubt began to creep in, so the next morning I asked again and this time the internets responded with:

I sent this quote to Divya, too, and thought about the philosophies of being. It was either the Buddha or the Oprah who said, “What you dwell upon you become.” And I’m pretty sure it was Emerson who said, “We become what we think about all day long.” Would it be possible to change one’s state of mind so that the answer to the question, “Are you happy?” was always “Yes”?

So on the third day I woke up and went straight to my computer to seek wisdom and was rewarded with:

And at that moment I knew what I had to do. I sent this photo to Divya and resolved to start every day by spending a few minutes finding some artifact (a quote or song or image) that I would share to remind both of us that the ride is short, we only get to go around once, and the decision to be happy is ours. (I didn’t ask if she wanted to receive this daily metaphysical spam, and she hasn’t blocked me on Facebook, so I think we’re good.)

My plan is to see if I can continue this for a year. I haven’t missed a day (yet), though some i’ve made only with the help of the international dateline! Sometimes I have a notion of how to link mindful happiness to my current world, but most days I simply blame/thank Jung’s notion of Synchronicity for powering the drunken squirrel walk that leads me to a particular post.

Initially I thought that I would collect 365 of these and turn them into a calendar or app or website for others to experience, but life is uncertain and it would suck if I got to day 364 and was hit by a bus. So I’ve decided to put up this simple WordPress site and share the process, in real time, with anyone who may be interested in following along. If you’ve stumbled across this site and find it to be of value, in any way, feel free to blame/thank Jung too (and feel free to share with others.)

Finally, I used to host a talk radio show and ended each program with a quote from the Author/Cultural Anthropologist, Angeles Arrien‘s book, The Four Fold Way. Somehow that seems appropriate here as well, so I’ll close with an admonition to be happy, and a gentle reminder to:

Show Up, Pay Attention, Tell The Truth, and Don’t Be Attached To The Outcome

namaste
robin (08/13/16 – silicon valley, california)

*Legal Disclaimer: No copyright is claimed in any of the materials I’ve copy/posted (other than those I’ve created myself.) In addition, as a 40+ year aficionado of collecting quotes, I understand that source authenticity, especially in the internet age, is often in dispute. Therefore, if I’ve garbled or attributed a quote to the wrong author, my apologies… And if you recognize this before I do, you are gratefully invited to celebrate your knowledge as yet another reason to

Be Happy!