Marketing is this world is designed to always have us searching for the next thing that will provide us happiness. We are told that we “need” those new shoes, that shade of lipstick, this perfect dress, that juicy hamburger, this scrumptious looking piece of cheesecake, all the while telling us that it’s the consumption of things that will bring up happiness. Now, we’re all smart enough to know that things don’t bring happiness. But the underlying subtle message is that happiness is found outside of ourselves…
We buy into that idea much of time. Look at romantic comedies in which the boy gets the girl. “She makes me happy,” is a phrase we hear all the time. And while relationships with others contribute to our happiness, they aren’t the true source of it. It lies within us. At our core, we choose if we are happy or not. Outside factors may influence our feelings (sometimes far more than they should) but happiness is a choice. We make that choice every single day. We choose who we surround ourselves with, be they people who add to our joy, or detract from it. We choose to embrace a new day, or to disdain it. We choose to feel good in our own skin, or be miserable there.
Now, we all have bad days. Sometimes everything just seems to be going wrong, and that’s OK. It’s okay to temporarily lose your sense of joy. But don’t bring the stakes and set up camp in that place. When we do that, we rob of ourselves of a full life, and we rob those we love. I think the greatest gift we can give to someone we care about is our sense of happiness and joy. Happiness is infectious, but so is despair. Do you want to lift others up, or pull them down? Do you want to be the catapult for your children, or the anchor?
Sometimes happiness means making hard choices. Sometimes it means cutting people and places from your life. Sometimes it means changing part of who you are, by taking a deep, hard look at the person you’ve become and the choices you’ve made. This is something I’ve spent a lot of time doing the last few years, and a big part of why this blog has been so quiet. Sometimes we have to find ourselves, and re-define ourselves to fully be us. After a lot of soul-searching and major life changes, I know exactly who am, why I am here, and what I want to accomplish in this life. I choose happiness, today and everyday. I choose to make the tough decisions to protect and amplify my happiness, and I choose to be a catapult for my children to find their happiness.
Creation is a huge part of me, and in keeping my happiness in balance. This work (boudoir) is the creation that most feeds my soul, because I get to watch how it feeds yours. I get to watch as you see yourself through my lens, for the beautiful, sexy, fierce, amazing person that you are. I love watching you blossom and I’m looking forward to serving you in that endeavor for a long time to come. Thanks for being here. 🙂
