Happiness

Basilica Notre-Dame

So this afternoon I took a walk after completing work for the day.

It was warmer today than yesterday and great for wandering around and "Going with the Flow."

I went past the Basilica with the throngs of tourist outside and the horses and carriages that were on hand for people wanting to see the sites of Vieux-Montreal this way as they do in cities throughout the world.

It was noisier today than usual with part of the road blocked by workmen investigating a large deep hole and traffic therefor being directed by a work-woman unlucky enough to have drawn the short straw on this particular task.  The area in front of the cathedral is currently dug up for renovations.

Traffic was bumper to bumper when all of a sudden one car decided to blow its horn and didn't stop blowing it.  The car was a VW Beetle driven by a woman with a Bischon Frisse dog on her lap.  (Poor little hound.)  She was clearly upset by not being able to progress as fast as normal on this street (rue Francis Xavier) nor did it bother her that her anger could probably be heard inside Notre-Dame, but everyone else could see the problem that lay ahead and was minding their time until they got past the road-works and could head to wherever they were going as per normal on a Friday afternoon.


Clearly this woman was someone who needed to practice meditation to help her to remain calm when the world around her was in crazy mode or not going according to expectations.

Meditation has other advantages though.

True, it reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and helps fight infection.  But practitioners don't necessarily walk around in a Zen-like state, unless they want to.

The happiness that meditators feel can, and usually does, overflow when music plays, jokes are told, and there's enough space to get up and dance.
It's a happy and upbeat way to live, of seeing the best in life, the funny side of life, and making the most of every moment.

The happiness inside means that you live life to its fullest with energy and vitality.

There are appropriate moments to be quiet and introspective, but just as we have night and day, man and woman, we also have times when it's perfectly alright to laugh out loud for long moments, to get up and dance spontaneously, and share the wealth of your happiness with others.

I hope that all your days are noisy...
with laughter, not with horn-blowing.

Love and laugh often.