Act of Fulfilling = Being in the Moment = Happiness Kita Szpak If you look up the word “fulfill” in the dictionary, you will find it means to “accomplish”, “carry out”, “achieve”, and “bring to pass”. These words don’t quite fire up the imagination as much as “realize”, “satisfy”, “make good”, and “perfect” – words that not only embody the completion of a task but the emotional state of the person who is completing the task. When you fulfill and are fulfilled by “accomplishing” your goals and “realizing” your dreams, perfect balance is manifested from within and without effortlessly. This is what we call happiness. Let’s explain this further by picking up on the idea back to the time you were young and could do something really well effortlessly. You liked doing it because you were good at it. The hours flew by as you “lost yourself” in your activity. Time stopped and you were in the moment so keenly that you became what you were doing – what you were creating. It felt great and you were very happy. Think of a recent situation when you’ve been happy. Was it at work when you were completing the web redesign? Was it when you were laying the final stones for your patio? Was it when you were scraping off the old paint from an antique chair you just bought? Was it when you started writing your book? When such moments are replicated and you move from one to the next easily, you are in the flow. You are fulfilling and being fulfilled in the same instance. Being in the flow is the Universe’s way of telling you that you are where you are supposed to be – when this happens, you are happy. And if there is an ever-constant fluidity in your life, chances are you are not only happy but also fulfilling your life purpose. In the past, I’ve often thought that being happy meant living out an almost- heroic existence where I am saving the world from certain calamity or dramatically stating my views in an international forum of great thinkers who are hanging on to my every word. I smile now as I read what I’ve just written. Wisdom and life experience tell me that it is precisely in the small gestures, that accumulate into bigger actions where I find the essence of “being in the moment”, and of being happy. And if I repeat these instances of fulfillment effortlessly, then I am also following my life purpose. I was out on my after-work run along the river a while back, and jogged into my favorite stretch of trees – pine trees to be exact. As I ran alongside of them, I spontaneously reached out to touch their green needles. It was but a moment of contact yet in that instance, where sun, and trees, and quiet greeted me, that my eyes welled up and I let the tears flow. I was in perfect balance and perfectly happy. I was in the moment. Often we assume that to be fulfilled and happy necessitates a steady diet of grandeur, drama and excitement. In fact, being happy - being in the moment – demands a retreat into oneself to bear what is already there for the taking. Try it. Lose yourself in a favorite activity. Let time stop as you become what you are doing – what you are creating. It will feel great and in that moment, you will be happy. About the Author: Kita Szpak is a writer, publicist, communications strategist, and speaker whose professional reputation has been built on “positioning clients for excellence” since she opened her consulting business in 1992. Armed with honors degrees in German and Education from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, as well as business management certification from the Queen’s School of Business, Kita cross-pollinates sound business principals with marketing savvy. She has spent over ten years working with prominent Canadian artists, musicians and writers such as Robert Farrell, Maria Knapik, Firdaus Kharas, and Elisabeth Harvor. Last October, Kita published her first children’s book, “You’re Special Wherever You Are” (www.picturebookstories.com). Last April, Kita also accomplished another first by running the Big Sur International Marathon in California. Her second book, “Tipping Point to Happiness” (www.tippingpointtohappiness.com) with business partner, Monique MacKinnon, made its debut at the Women Living on the Verge of Evolution Summit and Convocation in Las Vegas in September, 2010. |
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