MORALE: 8 WAYS TO KEEP GAS IN YOUR TANK

Happiness from the inside out

Looking “out there” for a source of energy and happiness—to another person, the government, your job, or leaving it to chance, is a losing proposition.  The answer to sagging morate lies much closer to home.

Researchers claim that happiness, beyond the accommodation of basic needs, is not influenced by education, social standing, or income.  Joy, they suggest, comes from an individual’s capacity to extract pleasure from both special events and routine activities associated with daily living. Psychologist and philosopher Eric Fromm, a holocaust survivor, knew of what he spoke.  Fromm believed that a person’s ability to experience happiness is learned.  He said, “a mother’s love is like the promised land, flowing with milk and honey.  Milk represents care and sustenance, while honey deals with appreciating the sweetness of life”.  Most parents are successful at providing the basics but fewer pass on to their children the ability to enjoy the pure pleasure of just being alive.

Greek philosophers promoted denial of bodily cravings as a sign of moral, physical, and spiritual superiority.  Unfortunately, their line of reasoning permeated Western culture.Some parents and a number of institutions promote repression rather than teaching children to appreciate and respect human sexuality.  They erroneously assume that abstinence is best achieved by instilling fear in the young.  Instead, fear-based strategies cause shame, guilt, and insecurity in later in life—attitudes that inhibit a person’s capacity to fully experience the pure pleasure and emotional grounding that sex offers.

 Learning to slow down, let go, and engage all your senses in what the present moment finds you doing, is the key to happiness.  Life is full of activities with the capacity to produce pleasure.  If you’re running out of gas, look inward for the solution. 

 Eight core pleasures that healthy people enjoy:

1. Spiritual …Sensing the presence of a higher order behind life’s many wonders.
2. Primal… Feeling secure and fulfilled, while experiencing a sense of timelessness during a hobby or other activity,
3. Pain relief (physical and emotional)… being comforted and soothed by another human being.
4. Elemental …to be completely and uninhibitedly engaged in laughter, play, movement, and vocal expression
5. Mental…exploring new situations, taking calculated risks, and learning from experience.
6. Emotional…liking someone or something, feeling thankful, hopeful, trusting, exulted, jubilant or blissful.
7. Sensual…savoring sensations associated with sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste.
8. Sexual … uninhibitedly sharing the integration of mind, body, and spirit with a loved one.