I just had a nice discussion with a friend about happiness. I asked him the simple question, "Are you happy?" That started a larger conversation in which I used a great metaphor to describe the self work I've been doing the past few years. It's no secret, and I don't shy away the fact, that I've been in therapy for several years now and it's been an incredible experience. I recommend it to anyone and everyone as a tool to help better understand one's self. I've combined that with my mindfulness, non-attachment, and conscious awareness practices as tools in my "Utility Belt" that I use daily.
The metaphor for all this I used with my friend was that I am a house covered in decades of old, chipping, cracked, and gnarly paint. All the things I mentioned above are the tools that have become my paint scrapers. They help me to get rid of the layers of "old paint." Years of conditioning being removed with purpose and love to reveal the wonderful house underneath all the gunk.
