ROADMAP TO HAPPINESS

August 27, 2008
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

Everything I need to know, I learned from driving my car. You're driving down the highway of life. Do you know where you're going? You should, because that's the reason you're on the road again. You have a reason to be driving on the highway and there is a destination you're headed toward. The destination is not as important as how you take the journey.

I have learned that the journey is better when I keep my eyes on the road ahead of me. This is equivalent to being present and focusing on the moment I am in right now. All kinds of negative things can happen if you don't keep your eyes on (the present) the road. You can crash into the car in front of you or an obstacle in the road. If the road bends, and you're not aware of it, you go off the road. Staying on the road is the most important thing you can do while driving. Being in the present moment is the most important thing you can do in life.

Notice your rear view mirror right in front of you. It is useful to look into the rear view mirror when you're backing up. It is not as useful when you're on the highway. If you keep looking through the rear view window, than your not paying attention to what is happening in front of you. The rear view mirror is like looking into your past. It is not of much value to you and it can actually be very dangerous to your health. Looking into the past stops you from being aware of what is happening right now. Don't keep looking at the rear view mirror or the past. Staying on the road is the most important thing you can be doing while driving, remember?

Your hands are on the steering wheel (or they should be) while you're driving. The steering wheel keeps you on the road. If you use the steering wheel properly you can stay on the road. The steering wheel is like your mind. If you are not concentrating on the present moment because your thinking is distracting your awareness, you could be headed for an accident. Thinking really does not help you while you're driving. It actually distracts you from what is important to you right now. This is true in life as well. Your thinking becomes a distraction, when it is not focused on the present moment. If you take your mind off the road, you let go of the steering wheel of life and before you know it, you find yourself off the road.

Let's say you have a flat tire. It happens, right? Well handling a flat tire is the same as handling the problems that happen to you in life. Do you complain about it, or do something about it. If you become angry that you got a flat, you may step out of the car and rant and rave while standing in the highway looking at your flat tire. Anger can be dangerous to your health because a car can hit you. Remember that it happened already. To fix a flat tire you have lots of choices available to you, getting mad is not your best choice. If you're not aware of your choices, you don't have any. You can pick up the phone and call for help; you can change the tire yourself.

Don't speed because it is similar to keeping up with the Jones. You may not be able to afford the speeding tickets or the loss of your licensee. Trying to keep up with others is not worth the risk of losing what you have. Use your breaks when you need to slow down. This is true in life as well. We have to learn how to put the breaks on something's in our life so we don't burn ourselves out going too fast.

Like most of us, you probably don't have a roadmap. In life happiness can be a good roadmap. If you use it you won't drive yourself crazy.

Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The website is www.HappinessClub.com.