Happiness Now

 

Q. If someone from the 1950’s suddenly appeared today, what would be the most difficult thing to explain to them about present-day life?

A. I possess a device, in my pocket, that is capable of accessing the entirety of information known to man. I use it to look at pictures of cats and get into arguments with strangers. 

I came across this gem the other day and had to laugh. We have access to such amazing resources, all of us, and not just physical technology, but spiritual technology as well. Yet, we rarely take full advantage of it. We blame our failures on lack of resources and outside factors; however, it’s never external!

Throughout our year we can access certain windows in time when various energies are available to us.  For example, kabbalistically, the energy of last month, the month ofAquarius, was that of freedom.  And next month in Aries we have an opportunity to connect to the energy of completion–to finish what we start. This month we have access to joy (twice actually because it’s a leap year. There are 2 months of Pisces, doubling the availability of all this happy Pisces energy). The holiday of Purim falls in this month of joy for a reason; the gift of Purim is the complete removal of negativity, all of which comes from our innate human desire to receive for the self alone. Purim is the complete annihilation of this darkness, both personally and globally.

On Purim, we can remove the source of negativity from our lives. The source. This is the place where all of our doubts stem from. It is in essence the source of anything that separates us from our potential. You may remember from my posts about Yom Kippur that then too there is the ability to remove negativity. But the difference between Yom Kippur and Purim is that whereas on Yom Kippur we can remove the darkness that we created, on Purim we remove the actual source of that darkness. Therefore, if we were able to use the energy of opportunity of Purim to full advantage, we would not have to do any work at Yom Kippur, because no negativity would ever have been allowed to exist in the first place!

Take a moment to imagine a world without negativity. On a personal level, this might mean having limitless energy, perfect health or being free from judgment. At work this would translate to harmony with others. Evil speech (malicious gossip) would disappear. Siblings would be loving and not fight. The possibility of such a world is why Purim is a day of joy.

Who wouldn’t sign up to live in a world like that? So, how do we connect to Purim in order to end conflicts between people and nations, end famine, eradicate poverty of income and spirit, create unity between people and never have to experience sickness or death?

Joyfulness.

The joy of Purim gives us the ability to eliminate darkness at its root. Only through joy do we have a chance of eradicating all negativity and chaos BEFORE it can manifest. Purim is not just about understanding, but about changing our consciousness.

I recently had an opportunity to do just that, change my consciousness. Upon my return after a week’s absence, I came back to find that through a series of miscommunications, (surprise!) my office had been redecorated. I won’t go into great detail, but suffice it to say I am not a fan of either mauve nor Southwestern patterns; there must have been a sale on both that week. However, now, every time I walk into my office I’m definitely smiling.

You see, both the greatest obstacle for us and the greatest strength of the opposition is sadness. Sadness is like saying to the Creator, “I’ve given up” or  “I can’t do this.” The Talmud shares that if a person loses something but does not lose hope in finding it and keeps looking, then he will eventually recover it. However, if one loses something and loses hope of ever recovering it, then whoever finds it then owns it.

There is danger in sadness because if we are sad it as if we are inviting negativity to come to us. We can’t lose hope and become filled with doubts. The onus is on us to make ourselves happy, and through that joy we are protected by the Light. The great gift of Purim is that the gates are open – the blessings that you most need in your life are waiting for you to connect to through your joy… not just on Purim, but every day. Ask the Creator to grant you the power to be happy even when you have darkness in your life.

This is an amazing window in time and it is a great spiritual tool, one this is powerful year round. Cultivate your happiness, and smile. Use your wonderful talents and abilities to make your life better, to connect to the people you love, and to improve the world around you… not to look at pictures of cats or start arguments.  🙂

THOUGHT INTO ACTION
How can you cultivate your happiness? We all have triggers that cause us to feel sad, and we all have triggers that cause us to feel happy. Today (and every day!) find a happy trigger, something that causes you to smile.