How To Make Your Soul Sing
Where do you find happiness? Well, that answer depends solely on you.
Do you find happiness soaking up the sun as you weed your garden? Or is your happy place the peak of a mountain after an arduous and rewarding hike? Maybe, like me, you find happiness in books that draw you into their worlds and fill your heart. Or maybe your happiness is found not in places and activities, but in the pride of hard-earned achievements—such as your college degree hanging on the wall or the realization that your formerly tight jeans are now too loose!
Happiness is a concept that is as unique and varied as the numerous people on this planet. Happiness can be achieved in an infinite range of ways, and that is good news considering we are fickle and can constantly change our minds about what makes us happy.
For example, I find happiness when I am with my family. We are all so busy, so stretched in many directions, that when a moment comes when we are all together, I feel happy and content. Still, if I am blessed with large amounts of time with my family—like maybe a whole week traveling together in a car—then you will surely find me seeking my happiness in quiet and solitude.
Generally, when I think of happiness, I envision laughter, smiles, and a sense of calm. But this line of thinking can distract and mislead me if I use this standard of measurement to compare myself to my friends’ smile-filled lives on social media. When I try to emulate someone else’s version of happy, I only seem to skim the surface of my own happiness.
My deepest manifestation of happy can only come from inside me.
So, how do I do this? How do I identify what truly brings me happiness? By challenging myself to notice those moments that bring me laughter. By identifying where I am and who I’m with when a smile pushes my cheeks a little higher. And by taking time to stop and think about what I just did or heard when that peaceful sense of calm washed over me.
This deliberate approach to reflection is how we figure out what makes our souls sing. The sweetest part of this revelation comes when we allow ourselves to live in those satisfying moments where everything seems to blend in harmony. Our life becomes richer, deeper, more meaningful, and more purposeful in those moments.
Today, I challenge you to identify those happy moments in your life. And I give you permission to linger a little longer with those people, in those spaces, doing that activity, pursuing that dream—because that is where your version of happiness lives.
Don’t limit yourself to someone else’s version of happy. Identify your own happy spaces and be tenacious in finding ways to live in them.
