We don’t need to mentally hear, throughout the day, a choir of angels singing, “Oh come let us adore him” in order to be happy, although it helps, and it helps a lot. We can settle for making our hearts pure, even in soul-crushing times, times when angelic song seems distant.
Here are five ways to feel happiness—pure blissful joy—from The Positive Trait Thesaurus. Good for even when the skies darken, as they all do, at times, for all of us.
Happiness is felt with “friendliness and politeness”
To never feel negative toward other people, quickly think about their guardian angels, those benevolent mythical beings, who, as spiritualists claim, explode with unwavering, unconditional love toward each of us. According to Lorna Byrne, an author who claims to have seen guardian angels since birth, these angels are enamored with us, without exception, no matter what deeds we’ve done.
So, when we imagine other people’s guardian angels, we should see only a euphoric bond of love. By looking at others through that lens, we grow friendlier toward them, more compassionate, more merciful, more polite, more human.
Happiness surges with “loving others unconditionally”
I believe we are born in this world to embark on life’s greatest mission: to learn to love others unconditionally. To love unconditionally, we must constantly forgive, never judge, and always celebrate others’ best traits, putting a positive spin on every deed, even the more troubling ones. Everyone, without exception, has many fine traits—and many faults worth overlooking.
When we look at an unkempt man who is shouting obscenities, wearing a hospital gown, and pushing a shopping cart of pop bottles, if we love unconditionally, we might think, “That’s me in another life. And I’m a touch entrepreneurial, aren’t I?” Follow up such thoughts with a visual of a guardian angel pouring love on that soul. That seemingly lost soul is more than worthy of love, just like the rest of us. Relish in that emotional bliss. When we love others, even through small gestures, we feel deep-rooted pleasure.
Happiness ignites by “not taking life or people for granted”
It strikes me that our families are with us for a reason. I even heard claims from spiritualists, such as angel-seeing Lorna Byrne, that we choose our parents before we’re born. According to this claim, the parents we choose are perfect for us, perfect in helping us learn our most valuable life lessons.
To not take our families, friends, neighbors, even enemies for granted, we must learn how to love them, no matter what befalls us, no matter how disturbing or soul-crushing life may seem. It takes only one person to rekindle a loving bond.
Happiness blossoms from “being willing to commit to the people and causes that one cares about”
To commit to another soul, we must not call it quits the moment things sour, no matter how hopeless we may feel. A mother might endure her son’s mental illness, so much so, she lets him reside with her, tending to his needs, long after he scrawls profanities across her walls in felt pen. A mother’s love can endure most anything. And a husband may endure his wife’s cheating with countless men, or her drug addiction, or her spending the household into bankruptcy. When circumstances go dire, our true spirit gets tested. Do we remain committed to the people we love, or do we quit? If we quit, we’ll likely continue the same pattern, but with someone else. But to truly commit, we must put aside all negative thoughts, zeroing in on only beneficial ones. I believe enduring brings the greatest rewards, especially everlasting, spiritual gifts, such as loyalty and selflessness.
Happiness skyrockets by “looking at the bright side when something bad happens”
When something bad happens, find a positive spin, one that leads to compassion and empathy for everyone involved, even for our enemies. But what if something unthinkable happens? How can we be happy then? In every dark sky is a glimmering star. We embrace happiness through zeroing in on all the beauty in the world. We embrace happiness by showing kindness toward everyone, even toward our rivals. We embrace happiness by explaining away heartache with empathy.
One golden way to feel happy, or at least sentimental, is to run through a list of every person we’ve ever encountered. Think of how we, today, love those people, every one of them, even if the relationship soured. By doing this exercise often, happiness grows, like a watered rose bush.
