I have decided to be happy.
It is a conscious decision.
Maybe it sounds like an obvious choice – stale bread or hot croissants, ill-fitting clothes or the perfect black dress, a friend who criticizes or a friend who congratulates but I was not always happy and so I know that it is a choice. Too often we are caught up in the drama of suffering. We continue to tell the same sad story or perhaps we love the honor of being the martyr who suffers for others or maybe we believe we do not truly deserve. It is time to let it go. We must take responsibility for ourselves and begin to nurture our own happiness like a precious and wonderful garden.
How? By purposefully looking for a reason to be happy – even for a moment.
Everyday I decide something will make me happy.
I am happy when my cat suddenly chases me up the stairs.
I am happy when my toast comes out a perfect brown.
I am happy when my husband kisses me good morning.
I am happy when a student suddenly finds an arm balance they thought impossible.
I am happy when the blue heron flies right over my head (and leaves no white trail behind on my car).
I look. I choose – period.
This is not to say that I am not at times worried, overwhelmed or fearful. I feel the breadth of human emotion. I am not removed from life or the suffering that is at time part of existance but I decide to find happiness anyway. Perhaps this is really what all those ancient teachers meant when they talked about the witness state. I can observe, feel and respond but I have a choice in it all. I can even choose my own suffering but instead I choose to return to that place of wholeness, peace and joy at the centre of myself. I am a witness not a victim or better said, I am a creator. And for today, this moment, I have decided to create “happy”.
Sending you the flower of happiness on this day.
Namaste,
Shasta Townsend
A celebrated transformational leader and a leading pioneer in embodied spirituality and Yoga, Shasta has inspired hundreds of people through her breakthrough methods for awakening and empowering your inner voice and divine power. Director, founder and senior teacher with Balanced Life Yoga, she delivers public talks, seminars and trainings on evolution and empowerment. She draws on a wide variety of techniques including Yoga, Shamanis, meditation, energy healing, coaching and the Law of Attraction. She is especially appreciated for her passionate way of allowing individuals to make sense of their world and embodied, holistic means to become the change they wish to see.
As early as in her teenage years, Shasta embarked on her journey as a spiritual explorer which led her to India, where she studied yoga, meditation and energy healing. She has studied with many remarkable mentors and she has undergone thousands of hour’s intense practice of meditation and spiritual studies. Shasta has taken every opportunity to become adept in her field through her own practice as well as through extensive training in yoga, group dynamics, meditation and spiritual counselling.
Written by Shasta
Shasta loves to see women of all ages recognize, access, and utilize the greatness within them, and to be a small part of it. She is skilled at cracking the lockbox of limitation and revealing one’s inner gifts. She is a feisty champion of creating an unlimited life where ease, joy, and freedom reign, regardless of the circumstances. Shasta’s expertise in these matters does not come from a few letters behind her name, but from her own investigation, learning, and journey. Thanks to this, her offerings are not regurgitated from another’s textbook, but from her own personal evolution and inner guidance. Shasta shares her passion for living well as a Featured Columnist at Elephant Journal, The Good Men Project, Rebelle Society and Vivid Life. Shasta leads retreats, workshops and talks around the world. She lives in Canada with her husband, cat and creative impulse. Her debut book, Happy, Sexy, Shameless – What Our Mother’s Didn’t Know About the Birds and the Bees is available through amazon.com
