Within the Chinese Five Element Theory, Spring is associated with the wood element. Spring heralds the beginning of life and naturally brings a renewed vitality, strength, flexibility and expansiveness. One virtue associated with Spring is altruism, which often leads to happiness.
A few months back, during a discussion about qigong and happiness in class, a student suggested we have a workshop on the subject: The Health and Happiness Workshop on April 6 was born. Since then I have noticed many people talking about happiness and have seen/heard numerous stories in the media on happiness. Is it simply because I’m more aware of the subject? Do we naturally feel happier in Springtime, or is there an increased curiosity about happiness in the collective consciousness?
For whatever reason, at this time many people seem eager to explore what happiness means to them, what fuels their desire for happiness, and whether that desire may actually be an obstacle to experiencing happiness. Could stopping the pursuit lead to contentment? How do some folks just choose to be happy?
“Happiness is a choice. You grieve, you stomp your feet, you pick yourself up and choose to be happy.” – Lucy Lawless
Many years ago during the first lectures we attended on Zhineng Qigong, the teachers always began with explaining that the main purpose of practicing qigong is to be happy for no particular reason and that feeling healthy was the direct path to happiness, and vice versa.
Happy Spring!
