stumbled upon this lovely little item the other day:
http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/five-rules-for-happiness-paperweight
it sweetly displays five simple rules for happiness:
1) Free your heart from hatred.
2) Free your mind from worry.
3) Live simply.
4) Give more.
5) Expect less.
but you know me - I always think I can improve (read: karen-ize) everything, so here's my version:
1) Give more.
because to my way of thinking, if I am busy looking for ways to give more, the other four rules sort of take care of themselves, don't they?
I don't have any energy left over to devote to hate or worry when I am earnestly seeking opportunities to give.
nor can my life be anything but simple with this as my guiding principle.
and once the joy of giving kicks in, it becomes far more rewarding to monitor what I am putting out rather than what I am receiving, so expectations sort of just fade into the background and disappear.
what do you think?
4 comments:
I am sorry, without first completing number 1, you will never be able to move forward. Let me explain without sounding argumentative or sexist. We have all, and yes I mean all of us, experienced pain, hurt and disappointment or cruelty in our lives. There are people or even ideas that have resulted in the feelings of hatred towards others. Sometimes expressed and sometime not, but always buried deep in our heart somewhere. And yes, like it or not women can burry them better than men. You need to free yourself form these feelings. You can not simply spend more time giving. The hatred is not relating to new hatred, it means releasing.past feelings that you carry with you all the time, sometimes for a lifetime. Let them go, "free your heart." It will be your first step to peace.
Thanks for commenting, Anonymous.
I tend to shy away from using global generalizations such as always/never and all/none unless I am describing my own personal experience, and even then I am rather suspicious of their accuracy. I have observed so many exceptions over the years that the 'rules' are no longer of real interest to me.
But that's just my singular perspective, and I think it's really cool that each of us can find unique points of resonance within these adages. I love hearing the responses people have to my posts, and I appreciate you sharing yours!
Blessings to you on your journey,
karen
Sorry, I am new to responding and in no way have any professional background or experience in your field. I can only draw my personal opinions (and of course that is all they are) from my own experiences, the observed experiences of those close to me, and the years I spent attending the School of Hard Knocks. I will refrain from all, always, never etc. I fully understand the impact these words can have in a discussion, or argument ;) Kind of like bringing up the kitchen sink theory during a dispute lol. That being said, I do believe that many of us (I guess that's not any better) do need to release the anger we hold in our hearts to be happy, and focusing on give more, as wonderful as it is, is simply a form of denial.
no worries - your opinions and experiences are welcome here, and I don't mind if you use whatever language you like to express them.
That being said, "Many of us" does feel somehow easier for me to digest than "All of us." It's just semantics, I know, but I'm kind of goofy that way.
And I agree that if someone is holding anger in their hearts, releasing it could make a significant difference to their quality of life. And that may need to happen before someone can enjoy or focus on giving.
So the idea of 'giving more' might not be appealing or useful for some folks. I can only write about what seems to work for me, and I am grateful to have alternate perspectives brought to my attention! I am pretty out there, and admittedly out of touch with the mainstream, so I enjoy having my worldview expanded. thank you! I look forward to hearing more from you in the future if you feel so inclined. :)
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