In the Pursuit of Happiness

 

Japanese author and entrepreneur, Masaru Emoto, performed a rather odd experiment; he labeled bottled water with positive or negative words to see what would happen. It was his aim to prove that human consciousness and energy can have a dramatic effect on the molecular structure of water and what he found was that harmful words formed rough, spiky crystal formations when compared to the beautiful designs in water that had been given positive labels. In essence, the experiment goes on to prove that our thoughts aren’t just confined to our minds but can actually alter our physical realities.

 

It’s an eye-opening concept that we have the power to not only harness our emotions but to construct a positive or negative reality by simply choosing our thoughts the way we pick our outfits each morning. At its core, the idea is simple enough to relate to-when we aniticipate the worst, the worst will most likely happen versus when we radiate optimism and attract positive outcomes. While the logic may not apply to all scenarios, the bottom line is that our thoughts have the power to sway our reality with how we choose to perceive situations.

 

A wonderful man I know recently unveiled these mind-shattering concepts to me that have left me at once inspired and pondering the word “happiness.” As most travelers can attest to, we are quick to chalk up unhappiness to “post-vacation blues” and to attribute our happiness to the “highs of wanderlust.” We turn traveling into an addiction of sorts where the rush of stepping outside routine starts to equate to feeling happy in our lives.

 

The concept of happiness has always been framed as something we must pursue and find. Dating back to the U.S. constitution, the idea of happiness is written not as a right but as something every man and woman chases in hope of one day attaining. The startling takeaway from Emoto’s experiments and many of the other ideas I’ve learned about, is that happiness isn’t found on that next plane, written in that next job offer or hidden in the smile of that next great love-it is already within you.

 

In the past year I have traveled to France, the Caribbean, Argentina, Colombia and Panama and while each trip left me deliriously happy and armed with a new perspective on life; coming back home to New York and routine felt as though I had fallen from cloud nine. I am quick to say I’m addicted to wanderlust and while I do feel deliriously content when sidestepping routine, it is dawning on me that I should’t frame happiness by my next great adventure-it is something I can find now.

 

Of course, most things are easier said than done and having recently spent a blissful week away from home in utter contentment, I can feel my self actively working to push away negative thoughts in lieu of ones filled with gratitude, optimism and positivity. Happiness ultimately comes from within and how we actively choose to view the world around us. After all, if our thoughts have the ability to physically alter the molecular formation of water, imagine what they can do to us.

 

As I continue to navigate the world of travel writing and flirt with the endless possibilities of where my life could lead me next, I am taking care to choose to view my life in shades or rose rather than shades of grey. As the famous quote by Charles Spurgeon goes, “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy that makes happiness.”

 

 

The post IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS first appeared on The Pin the Map Project.