One of my favorite thinkers and authors is Eckhart Tolle. His books, "The Power of Now" and "A New Earth," are some of the best meditations on mindfulness and consciousness that I have read. A powerful aspect of Tolle's teachings is his understanding of how our ego often gets in the way of our true happiness. We get so caught up in what we have, who we are and how we define ourselves and, by doing this, we lose sight of just 'being' and living in the current moment. We fail to embrace the life we have and, instead, replace it with constant striving and seeking. I'm tired of the perpetual cycle so in honor of jumping off the hamster wheel, I say enough is enough. What's wrong with inner peace, quite confidence, celebrating mere existence? Why must there always be more to get and gather? We all could use a little more Eckhart.
"Don't Seek Happiness. If you seek it, you won't find it, because seeking is the antithesis of happiness."
— Eckhart Tolle (A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose)
And, on that note, here is my happiness photo - Day 7. I was living in the moment while enjoying my martini at Chino Latino. :) Rating = 4.
Much of my day was spent in the depths of a PowerPoint abyss. If I took a picture of my computer screen, it would have rated a negative 12 on the happiness scale. Luckily, my day is ending with the Academy Awards. All that red carpet glitz and glamour never fails to inspire awestruck wonder, albeit slightly jaded. Hollywood can transform a so-so day into a fantastic escape. Oscar's aside, happiness did surround me today as I toiled. My cute puppy, Ozy was my faithful companion. My little shadow following me from room to room, Ozy barks to get my attention so I'll make some room for him and he can cuddle up in my lap. He's a snuggler.
I didn't have to take a photo today. Just recycled one of my many Ozy pics. Ozy's sweet mug is a renewable resource of pure joy and unconditional love!
Happiness rating = 8.
"The secret of life, a growing number of researchers are telling us, isn't in the symbols of success, but in participation in experiences that stir you. That's where you have the best chance to increase your happiness." -- Joe Robinson, Don't Miss Your Life: Find More Joy & Fulfillment Now
Happiness Photo Experiment, Day 5
Some days, happiness comes in abundance. Today was one of those days for me. Saturday, in and of itself, has an advantage over the rest of the week as there is usually little to do beyond relaxation, minor household chores and errands. Fewer deadlines. Fewer 'must do's' and 'gotta go's.' Alarm clocks are silenced in favor of sleeping in until your body tells you it is time to wake up. There is a slower rhythm, a pace marked by cups of coffee, fresh laundry, walks with the puppy. The day moves more slowly. Ah, Saturday . . .
A pedicure can be a perfect equalizer to the general chaos of life. While some may find the ritual of foot scrubbing, callous scraping and toenail painting to be a frivolous waste of money or an unnecessary luxury, I consider it therapeutic. It's an experience to savor. A treat. Happiness rating = 5!
I have to admit, through my experiment thus far, the term 'happiness' hasn't quite settled in with me. It feels to be a bit of a misnomer. When I find the reduction in worry, stress, negativity and pain to be greatest, words like content, comfortable, balanced, satisfied and joyful seem, somehow, more appropriate. Happy remains a lofty or too fleeting state of being. It is something strived for, but rarely attained. Now, comfort and contentment . . . these can linger and cling. Maybe happiness is a myth and by ceasing to believe, we liberate ourselves to stop constantly trying to find it and we just enjoy the experiences of where we are and what we have.
Happy photo experiment, Day 4.
Today was, well, let's just say it wasn't filled with an overwhelming amount of happiness. Lacking sleep, way too jacked up on caffeine (4 shots of espresso) and far too much group interaction at work left me feeling frazzled and generally grumpy. Of course, the fact that it is Friday did make it a little less painful. Nothing like the anticipation of weekend rest to provide a halo of optimism. To be honest, at the end of the day, I wanted nothing more than to go home, put on my pajamas and crawl into bed. This was not to be as Mr. Oz and I had previously made plans to go out. Longed for hibernation would have to wait and I am a happier person for it. We had dinner at this cute little Thai, Vietnamese restaurant called Rice Paper with some great friends of ours -- The 'Etts. The 'Ettes are a duo consisting of Brett and Yvette. Get it, the ETTS! Yvette's daughter Jessie rounded out our dinner party where dishes of crispy tofu puffs and tangy coconut shrimp intermingled with spring rolls and the cool crunch of cucumber and mango salad. I've been to Rice Paper before and it is definitely worth checking out. The food is light, the ingredients clean. They specialize in sauces, everything from ginger, scallion, lemongrass, curry and, my personal favorite, peanut sauce. Our evening made the shadow of a difficult day just melt away like the snow on a sunny Spring day. The flavors conjured thoughts of warmer weather and, for that, this photo rates a 7 on the happiness meter.
Happy photo experiment: Day 3
How do you represent the happiness that comes from seeing and catching up with wonderful friends over good wine & tasty food at a cool, new restaurant? Well, I decided to sum it all up with this photo of our collective glasses of wine. Generous pours of fine libations were just one of the many highlights at Travail, a little culinary adventure hide-away in Robbinsdale, MN. This place is unique in that the chefs are also the waitstaff and hosts. Everyone pitches in. The kitchen is all open so diners can see the action behind the scenes. The menu is deceptively simple yet refined and complex in the use of different flavors, textures and tones. I would highly recommend the dessert tasting menu -- chocolate peanut bars, sour cream ice cream w/ dried cherries and maple granola, lemon tart with brown butter dippin dots, Yuzu poached pears with hazelnut ice cream and Yuzu foam . . . oh my. Loved laughing with my friends. Great way to end a long work day. Rating = 7.
Happy photo, Day 2. This is my team at work. Lovely ladies. Look at their happy, smiley faces. We were taking a moment out of the busy day to celebrate a birthday with some yummy treats and laughs. Happiness rating = 6. If this would have taken place outside of the workplace setting, the rating would have been even higher.
On an unrelated note, I just saw a preview for the movie "Limitless" starring one hotty, Bradley Cooper and fine, fine actor, Robert DeNiro. The premise seems simple. Man somehow gets his hands on a super pill which renders him limitless (get the connection to the title). Apparently, he has boundless intelligence, strength, agility, power, sex appeal and sense of smell -- ok, I made that last one up, but it probably goes without saying that this pill would heighten the senses, no? Not sure where Robert DeNiro's character comes in, but he has something over on Mr. Bradley Cooper. There are quick flashes of guns and car chases. I think Bobby maybe wants the pills for himself or wants to use Bradley's superior skills (and gorgeous teeth) for some nefarious dealings. Either way, the preview poses the question "If you could have this limitless ability, would you do it?" I guess there is supposed to be some big moral lesson in here somewhere, but on the face of it, I would say my answer is "Yes!" What I would like to believe is this super pill could also improve compassion, sense of respect and general human kindness. Why would it only make your bad attributes stronger and not your good ones? Oh, Hollywood . . .
Upon reflection, this movie does sorta tie into the topic of Happiness. Can this fictitious super pill make one hot Mr. Bradley Cooper any happier than he already is? Can we find true happiness in some thing, external to our own sense of self. Feels like super pills and the like just serve to validate us briefly and the more sustaining happiness comes from how we feel inside.
Now, can anyone tell me where I can get my hands on this super pill? I have a big couple of weeks and could use the help.
The pursuit of happiness. We all strive for that perfect, utopia otherwise known as Happy. But, what is it and is it truly attainable? And, when we have it, do we really know it? This topic was the recent focus of an article in Fast Company magazine. Apparently business schools and corporations are jumping on the happiness bandwagon in a big way. Among other tidbits of wisdom, the article claims that "marketing happiness could be one of the few ways businesses can still appeal to people in a manner that feels authentic."
The Corporate Pursuit of Happiness
I am intrigued. Could happiness be the last bastion of white space territory that business has yet to fully co-opt? Or, when it comes right down to it, has happiness always been at the heart of every marketing plan and ad campaign? Aren't we all trying to get a little sliver of happiness and aren't companies looking for ways to give it to us (for a price)?
Either way, I liked the research highlighted in the article. For the next 30 days, I'm going to take 1 photograph each day of something that makes me happy. I will rate my level of happiness on a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being only slightly happy and 10 being over-the-top, giddy with happiness. I will post these each day on this blog. At the end of this experiment, who knows what patterns and insights I might find. It might tell me far more about my own understanding and relationship to happiness than I could ever imagine. Whoa. Scary.
Here is my first happiness photo:
My morning coffee treat. It makes me happy. On a scale from 1 to 10, I would have to rate this a solid 3. I look forward to it each day. I'm not going to lie. It cheers me up.
How do you represent the happiness that comes from seeing and catching up with wonderful friends over good wine & tasty food at a cool, new restaurant? Well, I decided to sum it all up with this photo of our collective glasses of wine. Generous pours of fine libations were just one of the many highlights at Travail, a little culinary adventure hide-away in Robbinsdale, MN. This place is unique in that the chefs are also the waitstaff and hosts. Everyone pitches in. The kitchen is all open so diners can see the action behind the scenes. The menu is deceptively simple yet refined and complex in the use of different flavors, textures and tones. I would highly recommend the dessert tasting menu -- chocolate peanut bars, sour cream ice cream w/ dried cherries and maple granola, lemon tart with brown butter dippin dots, Yuzu poached pears with hazelnut ice cream and Yuzu foam . . . oh my. Loved laughing with my friends. Great way to end a long work day. Rating = 7.
Happy photo, Day 2. This is my team at work. Lovely ladies. Look at their happy, smiley faces. We were taking a moment out of the busy day to celebrate a birthday with some yummy treats and laughs. Happiness rating = 6. If this would have taken place outside of the workplace setting, the rating would have been even higher. 
