A Balance of Finding Peace & Happiness While Releasing Pain & Suffering

We are all motivated by pleasure while we avoid pain. We often look for outer fulfillment to make us feel happy and good. We are told to be positive and put a smile on our face. Everyone wants to be happy.

Stress, worry and other unpleasant feelings can take a toll on our mental health and physical health. Healthy People 2000, a report from the US Department of Health and Human Services, has estimated that 70-80% of all visits to the doctor are for stress-related or stress-induced illnesses. More and more we are discovering how the mind and body are profoundly connected. Stress and negative emotions send a flood of internal biochemical changes that can negatively affect not only our mood, but our physical health.

Thus, happiness is a fabulous goal. Joy is a tremendously wonderful state of being. It is our natural state of being, but can become increasingly elusive with the bumps and bangs through life.

However, through our striving toward happiness and peace, we often reject those parts of us still hurting. I once provided healing services for a woman who was very sick from cancer. She modeled the common thinking to be positive, and struggled with allowing herself to grieve. It is important to be positive, and it is equally important to be honest with the hurt parts and how we feel, and honor all emotions within ourselves. By bringing awareness, love and acceptance to these areas, we naturally allow them to transform.

We can let negativity or pain take us over. Therefore, it is important to detach from them and find ways to connect to the positive. Perhaps by focusing on something we love or are grateful for, taking a walk, prayer, meditation or laughter. Once we have space from the negativity, then we can bring our positive, loving and compassionate selves to that previous negative state, accept it, and allow it to transform. Then we will begin to heal.

If in a positive state – then enjoy it! But if something is nagging at you and you are pushing discomforts down, then bring that positive, loving and compassionate part of yourself to the hurt parts and accept them. That is what they need. Through this balance we move toward accepting the wounded parts allowing them to naturally transform. Here we will find deeper, more long-lasting peace & joy.