'Waiting' to be Happy?

"It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living."

Eckhart Tolle

Often we can find ourselves 'waiting' for something, anything to happen so we can be happy. Perhaps it is the next vacation on Paradise Island, a better job, maybe a new juicy relationship, or when we retire so we can do what we really want to do. We tell ourselves that the here and now is simply not satisfactory and something else needs to happen so we can be truly fulfilled. We put our contentment off for another day when, the mind tells us, we will have the right circumstances to be happy. Yet, in all this 'waiting' to be happy, we miss the only place where true happiness is actually available; the here and now.

If we take a look right now, at what is here, we might find that everything is pretty good just as it is. If we really see clearly, we might find that we already have everything we need to enjoy our lives. All that is required is to actually look, and to be grateful for what we find; the health of our bodies, the sunlight through the leaves of a tree, a tasty beverage, or a favorite song. Every moment presents a cornucopia of abundance to be delighted by, just waiting for our recognition of how amazing it all really is. And wouldn't you know, the more you appreciate whatever gifts are appearing in you're here and now, even more blessings show up to feel grateful for.

If you doubt this, take a moment right now and look around you; find three things to be happy about in your present experience and notice that this appreciation acts like a magnet that draws more blessings for you to feel grateful for. The point is this; if you keep 'waiting' for things 'out there' to improve before you can be happy, you just might find that you have waited your whole life to start living, and in the process, have lived no life at all.