6 Morning Mindfulness Practices To Start The Day Happy
Being happy every day can be very simple when we live a life of love, peace and compassion. The art of living is knowing how to create happiness at any time and how to take care of our suffering. Through mindful living we can learn to live happily in the present moment, the only place where everything we are looking for is available: life itself, peace, true love and happiness. Here are 6 easy things we can do in the morning to start every day happy.
1. Start the day with a smile
Every morning when we wake up, we can choose how we start the day. When we open our eyes after a good night's sleep, we can start the day with a smile. We smile, because our smile is beautiful and we are alive. We have a brand new day ahead of us and the choice to be happy, peaceful and compassionate. Every new day is a fresh start to be who we truly want to be and to live life in line with our deepest values. We have a chance to make our dreams come true.
It only takes a second to smile, but that smile goes a long way and sets us up for joy, positivity, confidence and success. The more we do it, the more we train ourselves to feel positive first thing in the morning and when we feel that way, we make better choices and create our own happiness effortlessly.
When Rico and I wake up in the morning, the first thing we do is smile at each other. How could we not? We are best friends forever in love and we have another beautiful day together filled with true love, happiness, peace, understanding and compassion. The more time we spend together, the more we love each other and the more we fall in love. The love of my life is such a wonderful, complex, smart and beautiful being with a unique and perfect personality. He’s made of stars, galaxies and the universe, the whole cosmos is inside every single cell that makes him Rico. That’s why he’s my universe. We are all made of the universe.
2. Be grateful
We all have so much to be grateful for. When we wake up and smile in the morning, we can remind ourselves of everything we are grateful for. It doesn’t have to be complicated or difficult, it’s an easy thing to do and only takes a few seconds.
We can be grateful for being alive and having a brand new day ahead of us. We can be grateful for the sun, moon, stars and the universe, the trees, grass, colourful flowers, sand, rain and clouds, the blue sky, fresh air and all the beautiful creatures with whom we share the Earth. We can also be grateful for our wonderful bodies and unique personalities. These are some of the things we can all be grateful for.
Every morning when I wake up, I am grateful for waking up next to the one true love of my life and soulmate, and the gift of love and friendship. I am grateful for having a beautiful home with a comfy bed where we can sleep peacefully every night on soft pillows, a bathroom with running water where we can freshen up and a kitchen where we can mindfully prepare delicious vegan meals. The more we practice being grateful, the easier it gets and eventually it becomes part of our everyday life.
Sharing what we are grateful for with our loved ones can be a wonderful way to connect. Alternatively we could say it out loud or write it down. There are endless ways to express ourselves; we all need to explore what works best for us.
3. Be mindful
Mindfulness is the art of living happily in the present moment. When we are mindful, we are fully present and alive in each moment and we recognise the conditions of happiness that are already present in our daily lives.
Happiness and life itself are only available in the present moment. We mustn’t lose ourselves in the regrets of yesterday or worries about the future. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t plan our future responsibly or that we can’t grow and learn from the past. We just have to be present in the here and now because we exist here and now. First we need to learn to handle the present moment; if it has peace, joy and happiness then the future will also have that.
We need to practice mindfulness from the moment we wake up until we go to sleep at night. We can do that by being aware of our mind, body and soul. When we open our eyes and smile, let’s be aware of the body, our breathing and our beating heart. We are alive. Life is coursing through every fibre of our being. When we take a shower, let’s be aware of the miracle that we have a physical body and let’s enjoy the warmth of the water against our skin. When we brush our teeth, let’s do nothing else other than that. We should not think about what we will do next or what we did yesterday. We can gently hold our mind in the present moment and prevent it from wandering. Taking care of ourselves is happiness.
With mindfulness, simple things we repeatedly do every day can become the very source of our happiness and peace. The mind is free and beautiful if we understand how take care of it. When we practice mindfulness, we learn to control the mind to make it calm, quiet and peaceful.
When our mind is not calm and peaceful, it is loud and chaotic filled with fear, worries and negativity. Peace, happiness and calmness are not possible that way. The easiest way to start being mindful is by breathing. Being aware of how we breathe in and out naturally brings the mind to the present moment. That’s mindfulness. That’s where life, joy, peace, happiness and our dream life exist. Every time the mind is about to wander, we can bring it back to the present moment by focusing on our breath.
Anyone can learn to be mindful. And with mindfulness, anyone can be happy right away.
4. Look at all beings with the eyes of compassion
When the mind is liberated the heart floods with compassion. We must consume mindfully and in a way that causes the least amount of suffering. To do that and to respect the lives of all living beings with whom we share this planet means being vegan.
When we consume animals and the things that come out of animals, such as their flesh, breastmilk and eggs, we are causing tremendous pain and suffering. The blood of innocent, vulnerable beings is on our hands polluting our soul, mind and world. That act of being non-vegan is very wrong and immoral. All animals deserve a life free from human inflicted harm and exploitation, regardless of species. All animals experience physical and psychological feelings just like we do, and all animals want to live and be happy- just like we do. It’s unnecessary for humans to consume other animals, therefore it becomes a moral obligation for all of us to be vegan. It’s the very least we must all do.
When we look at all beings with the eyes of compassion, we understand that all lives are equally valuable and that all animals, including human animals, are the same in every way that matters. We all suffer the same way, we all value our lives, we all are conscious sentient beings aware of our own existence, we all have friends and families, and we all seek to avoid pain, suffering and harm. We all just want to be happy, loved and in peace.
A person without compassion can never be happy and can never find peace or true love. In order to create happiness and peace in ourselves and in the world, we must first start with how we treat others, how we eat, dress and live every day. Living vegan is the only ethical way to live.
When we wake up in the morning, let’s find the empathy and compassion within ourselves that we were born with. We must take responsibility for the consequences of our actions. Let’s vow to look at all beings with the eyes of compassion.
5. Nourish yourself
Every day we need to properly nourish ourselves. Our overall health consists of the wellbeing of the body, mind and soul and it is essential to take care of all three of them in order to be happy because they are interconnected. It is very simple to keep all of them healthy. All we have to do is consciously listen to our own body, mind and soul and keep them connected.
To nourish the mind, we must be mindful to keep it calm, quiet and peaceful. Welcome all thoughts with love and compassion, whether they are negative or positive, and learn to gently transform them into peaceful and positive ones. Thoughts are very powerful and impact how we feel, behave, and consequently what life we create for ourselves and others. We need to be mindful of how we speak to ourselves and how we think about ourselves because that’s how we will treat others around us. Let’s all be kind to ourselves, accept, love and understand ourselves inside and out, and discover all the things we love about ourselves. When we do that we can find inner peace, and only then can we truly love, accept and understand others too.
To nourish the soul, we must keep it pure. We are all born with a pure soul and it is very easy to keep it that way forever. All we need to do is welcome all emotions with loving kindness and non-discrimination, whether they are pleasant or difficult, because all feelings are equally important to look after. We need to unlearn hatred, prejudice and discrimination such as speciesism, racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism, ableism etc. and avoid causing harm to other living beings. To keep the soul pure, we need to value peace, true love, compassion, kindness, honesty, loyalty, justice and the truth, and align our actions with these values at all times.
To nourish the body, every day we must fuel it with healthy whole-food, plant-based foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds, hydrate it with water, and stretch and exercise it because our bodies were made to move. We also need to ensure that we get enough sleep every night.
Every morning when I get out of bed, I enjoy softly stretching my back, shoulders, hips, legs, neck and arms while looking out the window to gently wake and warm my body and prepare it for the day. This relieves any tension and loosens the muscles and the cute skeleton I own. Having a little stretch after spending the night sleeping feels like a warm massage. Try to stretch a little every morning even if it is for a few minutes, it is life changing.
6. Take a walk in nature
Regardless of the weather, taking a walk every morning is an excellent way to start a happy day. It refreshes the mind, body and soul. Each morning the sun paints the sky in different colours and being in nature helps us connect to the universe we live in. We can do this even if we live in a big city like London, or on our way to work. Feeling the endless sky above us and the earth beneath our feet is happiness.
We should always walk gracefully, lightly and peacefully on Earth. Every step we take, every action we do, every thought we think and every emotion we feel sends out an energy to the universe. Whatever energy we send out stays there forever and that’s the only thing we can get back for ourselves, because we create our world with our energy. We always get what we give. That’s why giving true love, peace, kindness, joy, compassion and understanding always brings happiness.
I love our daily walks with Rico. I love holding his beautiful hand, I love feeling his presence next to me and his peaceful energy. I love how he makes me feel, I love seeing his wonderful smile, I love his pure soul and his calm mind. To me, he is the most special being in the entire universe. I am forever in love with him.
It is always possible to practice living in the here and now. We are responsible for creating our own happiness; no one else can create it for us. With mindfulness and gratitude, we can be happy right away.
Thank you for being here.
Love, KarinLolita
