Priming yourself for happiness

I am spending a few days in my hometown visiting friends. The cherry trees are in full bloom and dapple the wet pavement with pink blossoms. Pausing to take it in, I again realize how intricate and beautiful nature in the city is. Trees reach full maturity here because their sole purpose is to inspire and calm.

In the early morning, I went out for a walk with a dear friend to watch the sunrise. Straight out of bed, we walked in silence first, and with the morning light on our faces, our minds woke up, and our conversation enlivened quickly. As we talked passionately, I noticed we were the only ones in the park taking an early morning stroll. Everyone else was on the way to somewhere, all geared up for purposeful action.

Sometimes, it helps us to step out of our cadence and do something different. The world is a beautiful place if we take the time to stop and look. Although this may seem like a trite statement, there is a powerful truth behind it that is easy to overlook.

When idling on something beautiful for some time, we must first move past some discomfort. Most of us probably want to move on immediately and do something productive instead. But by persisting patiently, we can enter the realm of Kairos, a seemingly timeless state of being where we are bathing in the raw beauty of the world around us.

I imagine how our ancestors probably had no trouble entering this state of deep time; perhaps it was so familiar and obvious that it was synonymous with everyday life. But these days, we live in an upside-down world where idling is no longer the norm, and we seek ways to be purposefully mindful.

My friend took me up to the rooftop terrace of the Royal Tropical Institute. As we were standing there sipping our teas in silence, soaking up the sunlight, the start of this day felt vast and spacious, even timeless, because I dared to pause and share the raw experience of life in the presence of someone I love.

Although we were outside for barely an hour, our day started in gratitude, attuned to the subtle beauty of everyday things, simply by intentionally choosing to get outside and appreciate the early morning light. And I believe that is all it takes to prime ourselves for happiness—day in, day out.