I’m all in on the present-moment happiness experience
Published in Mystic Minds
5 days ago (Medium.com)
Lately, I’ve been using a new perception to find happiness. The idea is that true, pure happiness is how we engage with life moment by moment. Being fully present in each experience and appreciating the little things, is what ensures happiness.
After at least a year of conscious living, I’m happier now than I’ve been in a long time. I live each day like I mean it.
The joy of living with an open heart (in the present) transcends anything the world can throw at you. If you can embody this concept, you will experience happiness as a state of being with immense satisfaction.
Speaker and author Denis Waitley’s once said, “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, or worn. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace & gratitude.”
Waitley’s observation has changed my reality on life satisfaction. Every minute is a chance to fully engage with everything we are doing, which is itself a spiritual experience.
Spirituality is not an escape from reality. It’s how we live our lives in the moment. How you live in the “here and now” has much to do with your life satisfaction.
In its purest form, happiness means surrendering to the flow of life. Spiritual teachers like Alan Watts, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Eckhart Tolle have spoken about finding fulfillment in our experiences as they happen.
“This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now,” Watts said. Dozens of studies have also shown that focusing on the process of enjoyable activities leads to more happiness than fixating on achieving the outcome.
I truly believe engaging with my present experiences has a lot to do with my life satisfaction. My happiness transcends external circumstances. It’s the spiritual experience of living every minute of my life with appreciation, love, grace, and gratitude.
If I focus on investing in my relationships and doing more of what brings out the best in myself and the people around me, happiness will be ensured for everyone.
A synergy of meaning
I like what Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl said in his book Man’s Search for Meaning, “But happiness cannot be pursued, it must ensue. One must have a reason to ‘be happy’. Once the reason is found, however, one becomes happy automatically.”
I’ve shifted from directly pursuing happiness to cultivating the conditions that allow it to flourish. So, what are these conditions?
Like Frankl said, it’s all in “the reason for being.”
My “reason for being” is close relationships, the people close to me, the social circle of influence, and the work that makes me come alive.
To ensure they guarantee happiness, I focus on the process — spending time with loved ones, investing in experiences outside work, and sharing personal work in public.
I don’t fixate on the outcome — a perfect vacation photo or a specific milestone achieved. Instead, I experience joy in the process itself.
The outcome — whether it’s strengthening a close bond, making a memory, or receiving positive feedback — becomes a delightful bonus, not the sole objective.
I’m focusing on meaningful connections daily, appreciating even the smallest experiences. The mere act of actively and consciously doing something without the distraction of how it ends can create a ripple effect of “being happy,” in the moment.
When you’re engaged in a task or experience you love, completely absorbed in the process, does happiness become a conscious thought?
No, it just happens. You’re so fully immersed and focused on the activity that happiness becomes a natural byproduct.
It doesn’t mean that flow experience is without work. You must have a strong “why” for your task or purpose. Your “why” becomes your guiding light, filling your days with meaning and direction.
That way, bouncing back from difficulties becomes easier. So dig deep, explore your values, and discover what truly makes you feel alive. As
Nietzsche said, “He who has a why can bear almost any how.”
Meaningful experiences create flow
In the present, we become more attuned to our activities. We enter a state of “flow,” where we’re fully absorbed in the experience, losing track of time and ego.
It’s in this state that we truly appreciate the process — the joy of spending time in nature, the warmth of connection, the thrill of engagement in what makes us come alive.
Find a purpose that resonates with your soul, and dedicate yourself to it. Let happiness be the beautiful, unexpected reward that unfolds organically along the way. The most fulfilling life is the one with the most reasons to be truly, genuinely happy.
And the best part?
Once nurtured with love, purpose, and connection, happiness transforms into a state of effortless joy. It becomes like breathing — a natural function fuelled by the richness of your life.
As you evolve and grow, so too will your reasons for being.
I don’t have to force a smile or fake joy when I’m actively living; it radiates from within, a genuine light that illuminates my path. It’s a reflection of my connection to others, my commitment to purpose, and the joy I derive from living a life true to myself.
It’s a wave I want to ride. You can’t force a wave to appear, nor can you dictate its exact size or shape. But you can position yourself for the ride.
I’m not chasing a future state of perpetual bliss.
I’m choosing to live now and focusing on the happiness experience today can offer at this very moment. Each experience, positive or negative, contributes to my meaningful life.
“Ever more people today have the means to live, but no meaning to live for,” Frankl said. Find your meaning and make every day the best day of your life. That is how you can lose yourself in the day, out time to work and make life an unconscious spiritual experience.
Life is happening for you, not against you.
Notice the difference and appreciate the good things, no matter how small. That simple practice has shifted my focus from what’s lacking to the abundance that already exists in my life.
Happiness isn’t a target to hit; it’s a beautiful side effect of living a meaningful life. So, yes, I’m all in on the present-moment happiness experience.
Written by Thomas Oppong
·Writer for Mystic Minds
Making the wisdom of great thinkers instantly accessible. As seen on Forbes, Inc. and Business Insider. For my popular essays, go here: https://thomasoppong.com