Daring to Be Happy

I got a recommendation from a good friend to see a movie called Happy Go Lucky. It's an interesting film about a British primary school teacher who is almost always happy. The beginning credits show her riding her bike through the streets of London, enjoying the ride, relaxed and...happy.

For me, the most striking aspect of the film was how people reacted to this young kind woman. Some of the characters were is various states of pain and sadness and either ignored her, berated her, or blamed her for their misery.

It stayed with me because this was my excuse for not being happy. It was my fear. I might offend someone. I might threaten someone. I might remind someone that they don't feel good and they'd take it out on me. I might be betraying some unspoken agreement for both of us to stay unhappy and unfulfilled.

It was not until I was really sick of being unhappy that I was willing to risk the consequences of being happy. I was willing to let go of the fear of change and experiment with being happy. I was willing to let go of relationships that could not survive the change. I was daring to be happy.

That's what happens with this woman in the film. You never see her blame the other person. She has empathy and compassion for the pain of the other person, but she does not allow it to deter her from her own happiness. In some cases, she has to let go of relationships.

What's stopping you from being happy (or passionate or abundant or loving)? What are you afraid will happen? Who might be affected by this change? Will you be breaking an agreement with someone?

Now that you have those answers, are you ready to let go and see what happens if you allow yourself to be happy? Can you let go of caring about what others think about you and dare to be happy?

Do this experiment for a week and let me know what happens!