{"id":9794,"date":"2015-01-18T16:39:16","date_gmt":"2015-01-18T21:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/?p=9794"},"modified":"2015-01-18T16:39:16","modified_gmt":"2015-01-18T21:39:16","slug":"happy-is-as-happy-thinks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/2015\/01\/happy-is-as-happy-thinks.html","title":{"rendered":"happy is as happy…thinks?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"via<\/a>
via FaceBook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I saw this FaceBook meme, it resonated for me like a crystal goblet in an opera. Darn near shattered, in fact. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Seriously? This has been a very rough week. Dear friends battling unknown medical conditions, family with crises, and always the deluge of bad news around the country. Around the world. ‘Happy’ seemed pretty far away yesterday. And then my younger son called, and talked… 90 minutes! Whoohoo!<\/p>\n

Something there is about hearing someone else’s wonderful adventures that takes you out of your life. He’s having such fun! It was a balmy 80+ degrees, and humid (of course). Sunny, w\/ some clouds. He was sitting outside, and I could hear the city’s life going on around him. We rarely indulge in visual Skype these days, as he’s careful of his data charges. Which I approve! It does mean, however, that I don’t get to see his handsome face (& slimmer — food poisoning and walking everywhere do that to you). The Pope is touring the Philippines, so Younger Son was waiting out the no-fly imposed for security reasons.<\/p>\n

As an inveterate reader of both memoir and travel lit, I’m a sucker for someone else’s trip. Especially someone I love. Younger son recounts what he’s eating (he found the ONLY\u00a0Vi\u1ec7tnamese restaurant on the island he just left \ud83d\ude42 ), what he’s doing, what the new place he’s staying at is like. He tells funny stories about his always new traveling companions — this week Irish, last week Russian. And it’s a wonderful distraction from my ongoing state of worry about whatever.<\/p>\n

Worry, I know, is pointless. And as my current meditation practice focuses on stress, I’m well aware that you can’t ‘change’ your thoughts. You can only practice letting them go, not compounding the worry w\/ worrying about the resistance to the worry… \ud83d\ude42 So, distraction helps.<\/p>\n

Mostly, though? I am deciding that if I’m happy w\/ my own pretty amazingly wonderful life, I can be a better listener, friend, and support person for those I love. And that’s a GREAT job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I saw this FaceBook meme, it resonated for me like a crystal goblet in an opera. Darn near shattered, in fact. \ud83d\ude42 Seriously? This has been a very rough week. Dear friends battling unknown medical conditions, family with crises, and always the deluge of bad news around the country. Around the world. ‘Happy’ seemed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":398,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[699,37,396,140],"tags":[11,1181,262,1195,1220,703],"class_list":["post-9794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-acceptance","category-family","category-happiness","category-travel","tag-beginners-heart","tag-britton-gildersleeve","tag-buddhist-blogs","tag-family","tag-travel","tag-worry"],"yoast_head":"\nhappy is as happy...thinks? - Beginner's Heart<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When I saw this FaceBook meme, it resonated for me like a crystal goblet in an opera. Darn near shattered, in fact. :) Seriously? 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