Stop Looking for Happiness “Out There”

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

“Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with grace and gratitude.” – Denis Waitley

Why is that?

Because happiness is our NATURAL state of being – it is an energy that we are born with.

Happiness requires loving energy, grace and gratitude to flow from within ourselves. When we are born, we naturally have this type of love in our hearts.

Then we adapt the ways of our family and society. We learn to put conditions on our love and our creative freedom becomes limited. As we grow up, we are falsely led to believe that outside circumstances simply “happen” and that we have no creative control over what happens in our lives.

Thus we live at the mercy of “chance” hoping that we will get lucky enough for the gods to throw us good fate and fortune so we may be “happy”. 

Who else thought this was the way the world worked at one time or another? I know there was a time in my life when I did. 

What I learned now is that I was totally wrong. 

Happiness comes from within – and when I am truly happy with myself, when I totally love myself — then I become a clearing for total love and appreciation for other. As a result of this love and gratitude for life from within — the world reflects back love and happiness. The world creates more opportunities for me to experience love and gratitude. It may seem like the “outside world” is providing it, but it is simply a reflection of what is inside of me. 

So stop looking for happiness “out there” because you won’t find it. 

Take a look within. Start practicing an attitude of gratitude, and you will find that your thoughts will slowly shift.