Awakening to wholeness.
We can only connect with our inner happiness when we stop all that doing and simply "be" (abide in the inherent joy of our true nature). We discover a deeper, longer-lasting and more-fulfiling kind of happiness when we stop trying to make ourself and our life different because authentic happiness is not dependent on external conditions or feeling good emotionally.
We will not find authentic happiness by making it our goal & destination; we will find it by appreciating the journey - our present moment experience of existence.
Life is a journey, not a destination.
So we need to slow down and enjoy the ride rather than madly rushing to get "there" - wherever we mistakenly believe happiness can be found. True happiness can only be found right here (within us) and right now (in the present moment). Even if our present moment circumstances aren't particularly pleasant, we can still connect with our inner happiness, but only if we don't allow ourself to get carried away from the here and now by external circumstances.
Am I truly unhappy in this moment where i am turning away to find happiness outside - or am I simply avoiding the discomfort that comes with being fully connected to my self?
Authentic happiness is all about being present; it is not necessarily about being emotionally or externally happy.
Authentic happiness is experienced when we embrace everything that life sends our way. We can never attain lasting happiness if we are always screening life - clinging to the "good" and rejecting the "bad".
Our life will not transform just because we read something inspiring or have a peak experience. Such things may change our thoughts and beliefs about life, but a new life cannot manifest until we address the deep-seated conditioning of our ego structures. A new life may begin in the mind with a new outlook on life, but until it filters down through our heart and into our body, nothing much will change.
A new life requires a new way of being - being in our body and feeling life fully (the good and the bad). It requires us to feel our reactions and responses to life in our body, in the present moment, without any judgement or agenda. Instead of trying to eradicate our flaws, we must embrace them because developing an intimate relationship with every aspect of our being is our only hope of reintegrating our being and awakening to our innate wholeness.