The Keys to Happiness (as told to my daughter)

Dear Daughter,

Today, I want to tell you the keys to happiness. Number one, don’t complain. In the words of Carl Jung “What you resist, persists.” The more you think about what you don’t want, the more likely it is, that is what you will receive.Thinking positive thoughts and  visualizing all that you want will help you live in abundance, health and love.

Key number two is to see the best in others. Dwelling on the negative and what you would like to change in people, only creates more negativity. Instead, think about the purpose of that person being in your life. Are they there to teach you something about yourself? Did you cross paths with this person to truly learn about compassion and love in the face of adversity?. It was actually you who told me, “All people do something good, even if they don’t know it.”

The third key is to be grateful. When you are grateful for everything, all that was, all that is, and all that will ever be, you won’t even need to remember the first two keys to happiness because those will just fall into place.  True happiness and contentment reside in being thankful for all that has touched your life.

Being grateful for what you have leads the fourth key to happiness which is to be generous. Not everyone has the benefits that you have and it feels good to do your part to help even the balance

And finally, key number four is love yourself. You, me, all living things, all matter, the earth, and the universe is all the same thing - energy. What you perceive is your reality. When you love yourself, love will be the energy that you take into the world.

All these keys to happiness can be found in many religions, philosophies, science and folktales from around the world. But I learned these secrets...from you. You are the happiest person I have ever met. Anyone that knows you would agree that you are the embodiment of Joseph Campbell’s words, “Follow your bliss.” You have brought so much happiness to my life and I am so grateful for you. I hope you know how proud of you I am.  I love you.