Happiness. What is happiness? As I look around me this morning I see and feel so many things that make me happy. Low clouds drifting by over a mountain dotted with green trees, kangaroos feeding in the paddocks, birds singing and flying happily in their freedom, a gentle lake without a breath of wind, talking to my mum on the telephone, sipping a cup of tea and knowing I will soon be in the ocean. But do these outside influences REALLY make you happy? This I have pondered for some time now. Yes, I surround myself daily in the natural world, my feet always connect with the earth at least once a day. My face feels the breeze gently touching it every single day. I take time out to be near the ocean, or just to stand on the grass and connect with the earth. I make time for my family and my friends but also for me. But I also truly believe that happiness can only come from INSIDE you. I am certain most people can be truly happy in nature, surrounded by purity. But can you be happy in the midst of a storm? When turmoil reigns through your mind as you sit at your office desk morning after morning wishing you were somewhere else, dreaming of a 'better' life. I have been there. But let me let you in on a secret. And that secret is called CHOICE. Every morning we wake up we have a choice to live the life we dream of. That's right! It is up to YOU and only YOU to make that choice, to follow your dream and make it a reality. I know that when you do this you will be truly HAPPY. And we also have a choice to FEEL our emotions, to acknowledge them and to move forward from them. Only when we move forward in life with anything can we grow and become the person we really truly are. So as you sit at your desk this morning I want you to ask yourself 'Am I truly HAPPY'. And, if the answer is no do something RIGHT NOW to change that. Happy Friday xxx

~ And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair ~ Kahil Gibran, The Prophet