The Most Beautiful Things in Life Aren't Seen or Touched, They're Felt

The most beautiful things in life aren’t visible or tangible, they can only be felt. A touch, a hug, the magic of a look, and a “how are you today?” are all part of the formula for true happiness, which is nothing more than the sum of all of those things that are invisible to the eyes. When they unite, they plant flowers in the gardens of our souls.

However, experts on emotions and behavioral psychology tell us that we often lose our natural capacity to experience the simplest, most basic happiness. In fact, humans are the only living beings capable of overstating their suffering through distorted or toxic thoughts.

True happiness, therefore, is invisible. It can’t be touched or seen, but it can be felt, because it’s the energy that emanates from the positive bonds we share with the things that are meaningful to us. The most beautiful things in life are there, all around us, but they can’t be owned or manipulated. They deserve to be respected as sacred.

Because love does not dominate or submit. Love should be created and renewed every day, just like true friendship, or affection for a child, or fondness for a pet. What we give and what we receive can’t be touched; it’s the whisper of our emotions.

The beautiful things that we don’t always see

Beautiful things have always been there, all around us. However, we can’t see them because we’re usually  looking through a big, foggy filter activated by routine, automatic or reflective thoughts, mechanical movements, and our limited intuition, which seems to have been completely disconnected from our emotions.

Rick Hanson is a neuropsychologist from California, famous for his books like Hardwiring Happiness and Buddha’s Brain. In his books, he reveals that the brain doesn’t know how to be happy, but rather it’s guided by rewards.

From birth, and all throughout childhood, we’re amazing reward-seekers, but the rewards we hunt are so essential and pure that as we get older, we forget the innate pleasure they gave us.

Only children know how to really enjoy the present, the here and now. Dreaming is enough for them to feel gratified. A walk, a game, a discovery, a hug, an “I’m proud of you,” is the best kind of gift to a child’s mind. They appreciate these invisible offerings that nurture their hearts.

As we grow, our search for reward becomes more complex. We’ll only be happy if we have a good job or a partner, or when others recognize our worth. The mind loses its innocence, and this is how we get sucked into ruts, insecurities, frustrations, etc.

Hanson emphasizes the need to connect with one’s happiness. This can only be achieved by reprogramming the brain, thereby taking advantage of its neuroplasticity. You have to change your thoughts and behaviors and feel new emotions to shape your reality. Because those beautiful things are still there, invisible and intangible. You just have to know how to feel them.

Look inside yourself to find those invisible things

To understand ourselves a little better as a species, it’s always interesting to look to the field of neuropsychology. The brain evolves based on negative experiences, because this is how it can learn enough to be able to survive, because our ancestors had to face very difficult situations.

This can help us understand that we’re programmed to focus on the negative aspects of our lives. But it’s time to go beyond that. If we’ve been able to survive adversity as a species, it’s time to move forward and learn how to be happy. Because the next evolutionary step is awareness.

Let’s develop a more intuitive awareness of emotions, reciprocity, respect, and empathy. Let’s learn to be aware of the beautiful things that surround us so that we can grow with them, care for them, and encourage them. We should allow ourselves to be happier since we’ve already learned to be strong.

Steps to develop awareness and open your eyes to what’s inside

We’re experts in the art of worrying, seeing the down side, and distrusting our own abilities. Somehow, we focus so much on this abyss of negativity within us that we go through the day with our eyes closed. We’re blind inside and out, while we fumble around searching for happiness.

• It’s time to turn on the light within you and knock down thoughts like “maybe,” “this isn’t for me,” and “I’m afraid that…”
• Only when you’re free from your own inner jail will you rise like the brave creature that you are and finally look outside without fear, burdens, or filters of negativity.
• Hold on to the here and now and look for daily rewards like children do: the taste of a new food, the pleasure of making a new friend, a walk, a smile, catching someone’s eye…
• Delight in the little things that you see around you, because if you add them all together, they make up an entire universe.

Slow down and enjoy them, because this is where you can find true happiness, in these tiny, invisible, basic things. Remember, above all, that happiness isn’t found in a stroke of luck, it’s fostered by the little things that happen every day, and that we tend to ignore.