Holographic Happiness

I experienced my life as a hologram recently. It happened while I was running.

As a challenge I decided to train for a 10 kilometre run this year and am now in week 9 of three training runs a week. What I notice about my choices and inner dialogue while running is an insight into what I feel and how I make decisions in other areas of my life. Let me give you an example.

Often when running I feel as though I can't go on, at times I really really really just want to stop and do something way easier and more fulfilling (like watching a movie and eating junk food for example). What often happens, though, is I become more determined to complete my goal of running that day.

I ran 9K on the seawall this past weekend and the course was around a number of forested points jutting into English Bay, with a short path visible to each point. Each time I rounded a point and saw no clues about how close I might be to the end of the run, I felt my resolve weakening. But each time I made it my goal to reach the next outcropping. And my inner voice said 'I will make it to the end no matter what." What's funny is that I played a little mind game on myself, agreeing internally that I could stop and walk a bit if I reached the next point and needed a rest. But at the same time I knew I wouldn't be stopping until I reached the end.

Reaching my goal became a point of pride and accomplishment. And I did this knowing that a successful non-stop finish would contribute to my happiness. It would be a more fulfilling result and I would feel happier in my sense of achievement.

I realize that within each experience is a reflection of the larger picture of my happiness. I can be present in any moment, get insights into my attitude towards my own happiness, and recognize choices I make and the reasons I make them. I can then filter that information through the screen of the question Is this choice more likely to lead to a richer, happier outcome, or is it not? The answer I get can inform my choices in other areas.

The metaphor of each moment being a hologram of life choices and behaviours has become very powerful to me. What an amazing short cut to self-knowledge and positive change this is! And these insights are available to me all the time and anywhere.