Now Is The Time!

Posted by Unknown On Friday, June 3, 2011 8 comments
We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with.

We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.

The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now.

Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D Souza. He said, "For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have.

Stop waiting ...

until you finish school,
until you go back to school,
until you lose ten pounds,
until you gain ten pounds,
until you have kids,
until your kids leave the house,
until you start work,
until you retire,
until you get married,
until you get divorced,
until Friday night,
until Sunday morning,
until you get a new car or home,
until your car or home is paid off,
until spring,
until summer,
until fall,
until winter,
until you are off welfare,
until the first or fifteenth,
until your song comes on,
until you've had a drink,
until you've sobered up,
until you die,
until you are born again


...to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.




-Author Unknown-

Have a happy day, everyone!
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8 comments to Now Is The Time!

  1. says:
    June 3, 2011 at 3:40 PM

    TO And the tides of time waits for no-one.
    Turn, Turn, Turn (The Byrds)(from the Bible)

  1. says:
    June 3, 2011 at 4:32 PM

    modernlifeisrubbish Dear MWS,

    So true what is said. That's why i loved the truth. It does not answer to any master.

    Sadly, i too realized this truth late in my life. Now i "do happiness" each day, as best i can. As Master Yoda would say, "Do or do not, there is no try".

  1. says:
    June 3, 2011 at 4:37 PM

    walla I am a bit slow these days but i take it to mean we shouldn't set conditions for happiness.

    Because life rides in on the saddle of change.

    So I ask why do we set conditions in the first place? It's because society builds us to have goals. In our minds we envision new emotional states attendant upon achieving those goals.

    Once we realize this is actually setting ourselves up to be disappointed should we not attain those goals, we can then take the wiser step to bifurcate our actions into two steps. First, focused attention. Then, self-actualization.

    In other words, whatever we do at the moment of doing, we should stay focused on the action. And the propulsive force should be to do it to our highest potential.

    This is not to say goals are unimportant. But one should not be so taken up by them as to sacrifice the objective of living in the first place.

    In fact, failure is an option to success for how one tackles failure is itself a process to burnish character and add to the EQ account all must cultivate in the march towards maturity. Like in the old days of polishing the rough rubber seed until it shines enough to be made a memento from nature.

    So how does this apply to relationships? Do we for instance apply Chapman's five love languages without acknowledging the person we love but just perfecting our actions for their own sake?

    To answer that, consider those love languages. Chapman identified them as:

    words of affirmation,
    quality time,
    receiving gifts,
    acts of service, and
    physical touch

    Instantly, we see how easy we can be thwarted by daily events from staying focused on them, in fact in many cases one suspects, to the extent of neglecting them entirely.

    And that could be because we have not been focusing on the art of expressing love to our highest potential.

    Those expressions have become conditional upon the moment being right or the person being in the mood but the probability of this happening will be low with every notch in complications that beset our modern lives. We just get distracted easily these days.

    As an example, how wonderful it would be for a woman to receive a simple act of attention from her man.

    Say the couple has sat down to a simple fare of hawker food at a roadside. It would be so chivalrous if the man could upon seeing her food being readied for delivery just walk up to the stall and volunteer to bring it to her, and, when he is doing so, say these simple words to her, ideally flashing his best Clooney smile while doing so,

    "Sabun darling, i know we have not had 'quality time' together for a long while. But i am trying my damnest this very moment to freeze time to 'reaffirm with simple words from my old heart' how grateful i am for all the 'sacrifices of service' you have staunchly done for our family.

    So, poor as you know i am, please accept this 'gift of a plate of piping hot orr-chien' in my anticipation of the oyster-catalyzed orgy of 'physical touch' we'll be consummating together tonight.

    Especially when that stupid minister is going to play another one of his repeat tv movies."

    See how spontaneous it can be?

    But if you try it this evening and instead get spontaneous combustion like,

    "Are you alright? Sure you got the right woman this time?"

    then i shall insist i had nothing to do with the altercation.

    The End

    [ps: the Stradivarius post has returned: http://is.gd/Tat3h8 ]

  1. says:
    June 3, 2011 at 11:37 PM

    Choong Kooi Chee It is the process not the end goal. Learnt this through the years.

  1. says:
    June 4, 2011 at 9:28 AM

    Unknown Dear TO

    I did a post on that song and you can see it at:

    http://masterwordsmith-unplugged.blogspot.com/2009/10/to-every-season-turn-turn-turn.html

    Love that song so much!

    Take care and have a great weekend!

    Cheers

  1. says:
    June 4, 2011 at 9:40 AM

    Unknown Dear Joshua

    Thanks for sharing so succinctly! I do agree with you...Life is so short. We cannot let it pass us by...

    Carpe diem!

    Cheers

  1. says:
    June 4, 2011 at 10:23 AM

    Unknown Dear Walla

    Thanks for such a deep and candid response to this post. I have learnt not to have expectations in life but just to live it fully. That is the best insurance against disappointments :-). If it happens, so be it. If it does not, life goes on.

    Previously, I would wonder and wander in my thoughts, hopes and dreams. I reckon sometimes we may bring it upon ourselves when we impose unreasonable expectations upon ourselves and indeed, society has its way in conditioning us in that direction.

    Yes, I have read two of Chapman's books on 'The Language of Love' and do agree with him that people show and respond differently to love. Once we understand that, it saves us a lot of heartache.

    Our DNA composition is beautiful and yet unique. Thus, it is unreasonable to think that others can understand our thoughts/expectations. Once we accept others for who they are, strengths and weaknesses - the journey of life begins to be less rocky. :-)

    Thanks for the great example of the couple :-). Most of all, thanks for gracing my blog with your elegant and profoundly deep input. It is always a delightful pleasure to hear from you.

    Wishing you magical moments with your loved ones.

    Warmest wishes

  1. says:
    June 4, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    Unknown Hi Choong Kooi

    Thanks for visiting my blog and for sharing that gem of experience/wisdom. Yes, it is the process and not that end result that matters. Sadly, many are unable to differentiate for themselves which is important and therein lies the beginning of disappointment. Take care and God bless you in US.

    Cheers

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