Conscious Choices with Instant Benefits: Hearts and Happiness

Tonight, a brief offering reinforcing what I wrote about yesterday and this morning. My purpose is simple: I do not want folks who may be really struggling with life issues to think my message was “Just smile. Be Happy.” It wasn’t.

Life is real, and the challenges we face can be daunting. However, they can be faced in a healthy emotional state, but I find that to be very difficult without awakening to self, coming to know core Self through responding to one’s heart. I will state it again: the default mental and emotional operating system is Ego. Heart must be consciously chosen. One or the other will be the processing element for our thoughts, beliefs, and actions. And it’s not like a one time choice, which is partly why life is so interesting and we have ups and downs. But choosing Heart when things are tough provides the stability to come through anything as a wiser person.

Being able to recognize reasons to be happy makes up part of that wisdom. I can’t speak for everyone, but maybe an example will encourage someone or enlighten them — or maybe just clarify what in the heck I’m trying to say. Right now, I am facing the replacement of the heating and air conditioning unit for the house. Do you know how expensive that is? Yes, some good bit of stress, but even today, I have seen dozens of things that made me happy, brought a smile to my face, made me appreciate someone, and sometimes laugh out loud. Things like an Irish a cappella singing group on Facebook, a video of a baby laughing, students at a school I was visiting engaged in preparing for a special activities day. And more, but these serve to illustrate I don’t stop living, don’t stop looking for happiness or authenticity when I’m under stress.

​Do I sometimes and could I anytime forget the heart choice? Yep, and it happens, but the only solution for feeling and recognizing happiness is engaging the hOS, Heart Operating System. Processing stress and life through the heart creates positivity and growth through all of life. When I don’t choose heart — I mean consciously and thoroughly speak to and listen to Heart — I automatically have chosen Ego, which means I could be flippant, disgusted, disgruntled, sarcastic, or any negative response by the things I saw today that made me happy.
In my novel, The Fellowship of the Heart, I am working through how Eric Lafarnge will respond to his life since he has awakened to the voice of his heart. Will it really make a difference in his career? How will he handle his wife’s egoic push into a new phase of her life? How will he handle her ridicule of him? What will he be able to recognize as reasons for happiness? It’s a lot to consider putting in story form.

I guess it’s a lot in real life, too. However, the choice of positivity, growth, and authentic happiness always comes with hOS. For Heart to operate, folks need to awaken to the whispers, pleas, admonitions, warnings, and so many other ways our heart seeks to awaken our minds and souls.

Ego can feel so good when we pity ourselves and others sympathize with us and maybe we get excused for our lack of action or make excuses or any of a thousand negative things. And when we are operating in ego, rarely can we recognize and feel happiness during the very real stresses and challenges of life.

​Doesn’t seem like much of choice to me. Happiness and heart — both are conscious choices. Heart, Baby, Heart! Oh, and Happiness!