Over the past 10 I have looked into a variety of different philosophers and doctors that have both taught me amazing lessons and insights into the perception of the mind over the body, the distinction between layers of happiness and the underlying potential if you control and work on various elements within your life you can almost follow up step by step guide in the search for happiness, fulfillment and purpose.

I caught up with some old friends, witnessed some magic through music, had some new adventures and had some time to reflect on some of the foundations of my happiness. I also met some people who shared an insight into their happiness and one man shared a deep life story of struggle and the path he took and overcame to find his happiness, a story I will cover along the line.

It was a thoughtful 10 days, and I saw a variety on common trends and some strange universal connections between lessons I would learn in the morning and witness in throughout the day. One of this was the element of the flow state as depicted by Lao Tzu and Taoism, also somewhat an underlying value in both Buddhism and Stoicism. The ability to take every experience, learnings or emotions for what they are and instead of trying to overcome them through force and ended up on the riverbanks, absorb them, try and unwind them like a ball of twine, learn from them and keep flowing down the river. For if you choose to get stuck on the bank, you will need reach the destination.

The readings of Martin Seligman’s framework of the pleasant life, the good life and the meaningful life was so real and amazed me and how such a simple framework, or what looked like a simple framework was so deep and insightful. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about this and dissecting it as a breakdown format for my own life.

Finally, heading down to Melbourne for the week had a range of emotions for me. The excitement of a boys trip away was awesome, while the contrast of missing my family before I left gave me both joy and sadness from both sides at the same time. My family are one of the cornerstone foundations in my happiness, my friends and such an important aspect of my happiness and adventure fills my soul.

Overall, the last 10 days has taught me some good lessons, helped me iron out more of a direction for this blog, pushed me out of my comfort zone a bit more and been quite insightful.

It’s important to experience new things, new adventures and new emotions but it’s just as important to reflect and embrace those moments you have had because you already know the feeling you’re going to get and sometimes you might find an extra gem, nestled within your mind too.

Thanks for reading,

Dean