A course in happiness author Frank Ra inspires us to be happy now here, or we will be happy no where.
He does this with his books, life coaching and his personal development blog.
Frank is a Dharma instructor, life-coach, well-being facilitator, advaitan, being in becoming. He has been coaching and working in eCommunication since late 1995. Frank lived in the peacefulness of his native, pristine Italian small town, where he read about spirituality, Eastern/pre-Socratic/Latin philosophy, and started to practice meditation. Then, he started to travel, and in less than 10 years, visited over 30 countries and 80 cities, cultivating personal/professional development all around the World.
During his travels, he familiarized with different cultures and way of living. And understood we are all in the same boat, figuring out what matters for us in life and how to live life happily. He noticed there is often little correlation between how ‘society’ defines a happy life and how happy each person really feels. He researched about well-being, both in empirical ways and leveraging existing peer-reviewed studies.
Happiness, writes life Frank, is not a place to reach and blissfully sit there forever. According to Ra, “if we are concerned only with happiness, we are going to miss it; if we live our lives in ways appropriate to the context, we are happy.” Frank coined “AmAre” an inspirational framework that helps readers to be happier and purpose-driven. AmAre stands for being:
- Aware and accepting
- Meaningful and motivated
- Active and attentive
- Resilient and respectful
- Eating properly and exercising
Frank’s book is an open-ended work that facilitates the readers’ active participation in thought and action. Because happiness is where you want it to be, and not only where you want to be. “A course in happiness” can be used for personal development, providing 10 ways to be the change you want to see in the world
There are many aspects of society which need to be improved. You can make your voice be heard about it. And you can make our actions speak even louder by being the change you want to see in society. These are 10 steps you can embrace to be the change. They are presented in pairs, because they build on each-other, and make the other step sustainable in the long term. They follow the AmAre approach already mentioned. You can be the change by being:
- Aware and accepting
You explored various aspects of your life. You understood your priorities for this year, and for the medium term. You learned that change is more an ongoing process than a target. Now, you are ready to phrase your change and commit to it. Example: “many people are having a hard time making it to the end of the month. In 2012, I will help by volunteering at the local food-bank for at least 10 weeks per month”.
You accepted that whatever change you want to bring to society, it will require your time and commitment. And joining forces with other beings. Remember to build rituals (actions you perform regularly) to support your change. Example: “To ensure there is space in my schedule for volunteering, I dedicate the first and third Sunday, and the second and fourth Saturday to giving back to society.” Sticking to this ritual may be challenging initially, however by doing what you promised yourself to do, you will be more aware about what counts and how to find plenty of time for it. You benefit from precise rituals, otherwise your daily routine will just carry-on as usual.
- Meaningful and motivated
The timeless “What is the meaning of life?” contains its own answer. Yes, WHAT is the meaning of life. We give meaning to life with the values we cultivate. And how we align our goals, cognition and actions to our values. Choose to be an agent of meaningful change.
Meaning stays. Motivation may raise and decline. And then raise again. Set milestones along the process of being change. Give them full presence, but also remember they are pointers, not an end in themselves.
- Active and attentive
No matter how many recipes you know by heart, the only way to calm your hunger is by cooking. The same applies to life. One small act of kindness is worth more than a lecture on empathy. Act now! There is no need to listen to one more “if only I had this, I could do that!.” Do what can be done now, and for the rest you will have plenty of energies and support, once the time comes.
- Resilient and respectful
Rome was not built in one day… and probably also the process of being an agent of change will take you some time to be fully established. And a lifetime to be kept going! That is why resiliency, the ability of bouncing back on your feet during challenging situations, is so important.
At the same time, every being, even people who seem uncooperative with you, deserve respect. We are all on the same boat, figuring out our present and future, trying to do the best of it.
- Eating properly and exercising
No matter what’s your change, you benefit from feeding your body and mind with appropriate food, in appropriate quantities, and by exercising. This ensures you have full energy to devote to your resolution.
