LIVING THE SWEET LIFE

By Alisa Murray www.AlisaMurray.com Nationally recognized portrait artist and Living the Sweet Life:award-winning columnist. If You’re Happy and You Know It

Do Something Sweet!

Hey Sweet Lifers! How are you? Are you happy? I know, there’s always a lot going on, and what kind of question is it to ask someone “Are you happy” anyway? Happiness is a fundamental part of living a sweet life, and the way to achieving it might be simpler than you think.

For many, the feeling of being “happy” is a fleeting one. Happiness felt in this way is marked by tangible experiences, such as successes after long struggles, surviving a health issue, or maybe even winning the lottery (just kidding!). Those happy feelings are little blips of more like a surge of the feeling. What we all need is a steady and sustained happiness flow. This happens Alisa Murray. when our overall lifestyle feeds us constantly. This is created when we live in a great home and marriage with those around us who give us a feeling of being loved for exactly who we are. It also happens by leaning into our perfect calling that creates within us a sense of purpose and satisfaction. A positive mindset becomes your internal compass. Happiness has to be cultivated, and just like everything in life that’s worth a damn, it’s hard work. When things go sideways, and they always will . . . happiness thrives and insulates us from falling into an unhappy state of mind.

In thinking about my own happiness, I have that happy flow thingy. Of course, I would not ask you about yours having not examined my own first! This happy stuff takes time, and the older I get, the happier I become. One thing I have learned is that creating an overall sense of being happy is a decision. This decision to be happy regardless of what comes your way is the actual pivotal point that we all must make to live fully and feel complete. Another thing I have learned is that happiness is achieved by simply being sweet. Like so many other things in life, it’s not rocket science, although society at times wishes to complicate the matter. There are studies that have proven that people who practice being sweet to others find themselves actually feeling happier than those who do not. There are some little things you can do that will increase exponentially your happy flow. I find simply holding the door for a stranger or allowing a mother with children to go ahead of me at the checkout is a sweet act of kindness that spills out of me and into them. My Sweet Life Garden has become a sacred space, and while waiting for a butterfly to greet me or a flower to bloom, I gain patience with this world and with myself. I think while I am there about how life is so short, my time here is fleeting, and we all need to do our best to do what we are supposed to do both for ourselves and for one another. I also make a point to text a sweet message to at least five people each morning. Sometimes, that is just what they needed at that moment to set the stage for their day to be brighter. So I ask you again, my sweet lifer . . . Are you happy? I sure hope so! Happiness does not just happen; it is a decision and an important part in truly “living a sweet life.”

Take care of you and stay “sweet!”