I like to move in the direction of my dreams, even if it doesn’t seem to lead to any treasure.  I’ve found unexpected rewards along the way.  And on multiple occasions, I’ve been given more than I asked for.

Sure, I’ve had to compromise at times—make sure I could pay the rent or deal with obligations—but I suspect that if I pursue my dreams with a clear mind and an open heart, even if it’s just for five minutes a day (which is a situation I’ve found myself in), I’ll tap into a wealth of unforeseen support.

The cool thing about accepting my negative feelings—telling myself it’s fine to feel that way—is that my focus shifts from negativity to acceptance.  Then I can reach for positivity.

Obviously, it’s good to weigh risk when moving toward betterment.  But I’ve seen that become deceptively toxic—I’ve seen people use risk as a justification to stagnate, to never breathe life into their much-deserved dreams.

If our emotions are dependent on measurement and contrast, we will continually come up short, and either exist in perpetual dissatisfaction at best, or unhappiness at worst.  But we have the ability to see it differently—as an opportunity to weave our stories and pursue our dreams.

At that point, it becomes a blessed game, instead of a joyless series of arbitrary tests.

I used to believe I had to earn my happiness.

Then I realized that I could be happy in “miserable” conditions (as well as vice versa—I could be miserable in “happy” conditions).  My happiness wasn’t dependent on sacrificing or justifying my way into a predetermined “heaven” or “enlightenment.”

Happiness, in my opinion, springs from an internal focus on relaxation and allowance, rather than earning and strife.  Outwardly, I may or may not have to exert physical effort, but that is independent of my happiness.

In my quest to attain more, I have continually realized I have more than enough (sometimes it took time and perspective to see the validity of that within certain circumstances.).

That’s not an excuse to stop dreaming, but to dream without the burden of a lack-tainted focus.

Externally, I seek satisfaction from imperfect circumstances, because in my opinion, circumstances are constantly moving towards long-run perfection.

Internally, I’m much more strict.  I seek—at a minimum—a state of satisfaction.  And in so doing, I can appreciate the perfection as it unfolds.

Doing everything I can means once I’ve taken every appropriate action, I relax and enjoy the present moment.  Because there will be something else to take care of soon enough, and I’ll take better care of it if I’m optimistic and fresh instead of haggard and worried.

When I focus too hard on the things I want, I lose my ability to be light and easy—to appreciate the moment and delight in unexpected blessings.

But when I focus on being happy here and now, regardless of what may or may not be happening (or if that’s too hard to manage, I focus on resignation and apathy, which eases my negativity and paves the way for positivity) my mind becomes gradually more appreciative, and those unexpected blessings begin popping up again.

One day, I realized the material things I desired—even if I got every single one of them—weren’t guaranteed to bring me happiness, and that I desired these things because I thought they would make me happy.

And then I realized my feelings were like muscles.  How even though I couldn’t stretch anger into joy, I could massage it into something looser—boredom or apathy—and work my way up from there.  I could distract my negativity with appreciation of something I had no opinion about:  the color of my floor or the hum of the fan.

And then I realized happiness wasn’t a function of my material achievements, it was a function of my gradual focus.

(Ironically, the more positive my focus, the more positive things seem to happen to me, without me having to pay the price or exert massive amounts of effort.)