Positive psychology research suggests there are ten positive emotions which capture or describe being in a state of well-being or happiness. These ten emotions are: joy, gratitude, hope, love, pride, serenity, amusement, interest, awe and inspiration.* Indeed, being in situations where these feeling are ripe is wonderful, but there can often be something missing.
Yes, you are full of joy, gratitude, love, hope, but is that it? For me, too often I overlook letting these positive emotions becomes positive experiences. Being in the moment does not necessarily mean you are mindful of the wonder of that moment. That extra alertness of pausing to let the subtle glory of that moment resonate within you is the blessing mindfulness can bring.
With a little non-effort any positive emotion can be enhanced. I call it non-effort for a reason. Non-effort means with full awareness appreciating the awesomeness of being there NOW and giving up the effort of our otherwise naturally tendencies to analyze that moment: stop judging, evaluating, or ranking the experience.
Make it a habit or ritual to regularly take an inventory of your immediate situation and see how many of these ten positive emotions are present and active NOW. See if you can frame that NOW moment with these colourful feelings. With some concentration try to add a few of these emotions that were not at first obvious and then let the glow of these feeling be fully experienced.
Mindfully experiencing the NOW is taking that NOW to the next level.
Reflection Source: www.Smallercup.org
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*: You might want to look at the Reflection of February 26th, 2019 for an expanded description of these ten positive emotions.
*: Source: Positivity by Barbara Frederickson