I know you are probably thinking – “Such profound words,” or maybe not. This a phrase I have jokingly used for decades, as it is more of an absurd statement of the obvious. However, if we dig a little deeper, it might not be as absurd as we think.
Author Jon Kabat-Zinn, actually used this for the title of a book. This phrase suggests that we take ourselves with us wherever we go. Still sound a little too obvious? Let me try this – perhaps if we truly took ourselves wherever we go, we wouldn’t constantly be wishing we were somewhere else.
Think about it: are you in a meeting at work wishing you had a different career? Are you living in your house dwelling on the fact that you wished you lived in a bigger house? Do you sit with your spouse wishing you were with someone else? While spending time with a friend, are you wishing you were on vacation? In other words, is happiness just over the next hill or just around the next corner?
The truth is that happiness is not a place at which we will arrive as soon as ________ (fill in the blank). If we are constantly dissatisfied, we will be so in whatever situations we find ourselves. Likewise, if we are generally a happy person, we will take that perspective into our various circumstances and challenges.
Rather than always looking to the next thing, person, or place to make us happy, we would be far better served by: 1) being fully present in our current circumstances, and 2) learning to see life through a lens of gratitude. Because truly, “Wherever you go, there you are.” Ask yourself today – “Who do I want to be, wherever I go?”