this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2026
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There are some moments in life in which a sudden self-awareness of happiness hits - a moment in which you step back from yourself and realize that, in that instant, everything is good. A feeling of your consciousness pulling away to make an emotional snapshot of that moment to care for and examine like one would a wounded bird or a nugget of gold.

While I don't consider my life as a unhappy one, I only have a few of these moments guarded away. The first being at around age 6. My parents were giving me a group hug while we were all singing a family lullaby. My mother was expecting my baby brother at the time and that was the first time the baby's name was included in the song. I remember feeling detached and floating away while taking in the moment.

The last time I experienced it I had just finished changing the sheets on a new king bed I splurged on after a small windfall. I remember laying on the bedspread and my 2yr old pup hopping on to play around the newly made bed. Instead of ushering him off as I usually did, I just watched him mess up the bedspread.

(I know happiness is not a fixed concept and everyone can have their own definition and experiences, but given my ignorance of the specific word to refer to the instant moment of self-awareness described, I just went with it)

Curious to read your thoughts and experiences.

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[โ€“] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'd recommend reading The Power Of Now. Its actually life changing. If this book replaced all religions, I bet we would have close to a utopia overnight.

The premise is simple, and you highlighted it in your stories. There is nothing but the Now. Dwelling on the bad past is pain. The worry of the future is pain. There can be no joy in either. All you ever have is the Now.

It takes mind training to get into that mindset, but its truly freeing. There's no sky daddy. No misogonyst racist preachers. Its just You, Life, and Now.

And I am not some hippy dippy person who thinks energy crystals make you younger. I'm a wrencher and a PC nerd and I don't do yoga. But I definitely recommend that book to everyone.

Eckhart Tolle. Thich Nhat Hanh. Maharaj. Some of my favorite folks.

Nonduality and mindfulness (and a bit of DMT) have brought me a profound sense of peace and happiness into my life that I never thought imaginable.