True Happiness

by Laura Pickford Ramirez
(Reno NV)

Keepers of the Children

What is your favorite love quote?

True happiness is an acceptance of life as it is given to us, with its diminishment, mystery, uncontrollability, and all.

Michael Gellert

What does it mean to you?

It means that being happy is synonomous with going with the flow. So many people believe that happiness exists outside themselves and they try to control it by striving harder for the things that they think will bring them joy. Instead, they stress themselves out and their sense of being happy diminishes.

Contrary to what some people believe, going with the flow doesn't mean that you fail to act when responding is a priority.


How have you applied it to your life?

By letting everything that happens be okay. Of course this can be challenging, like when I recently learned that my neighbor, who was only 28, had died of a brain tumor. Still, I aspire to this philosophy in each and every moment.

How has it changed you?

It has made me more present. And let me tell you, in these moments when I am fully present with what is, I realize that I've never known greater peace or joy.

For more on my philosophy, in particular, my philosophy of parenting, read my parenting book, Keepers of the Children: Native American Wisdom and Parenting. Although it is about parenting, it is really more about creating healthy relationships and understanding what life is really about.