Annamarie McKevitt
Stepping Stone 25 Guide
"I am a passionate creator, explorer and learner who loves hugging trees and riding waves."
As I began reading this steppingstone, I could hear my mother’s voice “... Go to school, get good grades, land a well-paying job and you will have enough money to buy the things that will ensure your security and, with it, your happiness.”
We’re standing in her kitchen as I’m hastily confessing my doubts and fears regarding my future. I had known for some time that my own happiness was not linked to status, material goods and wealth; yet, everything in our society told me I was wrong.
It took years of muddled decisions, frequent mistakes and late-night conversations with trusted friends before I began to recognize that a prerequisite for happiness is cultivating the ability to live in the present moment. For example, happiness, for me, comes when I am marveling at the glass suncatcher that shines rainbows throughout my bedroom; or when I am present to the sun’s warm kisses across my winter face; or when I take the first sip of my morning coffee; or when I experience the invigorating glow from a full moon.
"I’ve been experiencing happiness, not as a destination at the end of a long road, but, as the ever-evolving path that has become my life."
For me, happiness exists beyond the norms of what society tells me. So, why do I spend so much time waiting for happiness to occur when I can choose to experience it right now!? When we slow down and remain mindful, we can alter our thinking and experience happiness from within our lives.
As I read the four questions at the bottom of The American Paradox section of this steppingstone, a part of me wanted to speed through answering them. For example, in response to the first question (When do you feel most happy?) I thought, “Yep, sometimes I’m happy and sometimes I’m not. My work as a schoolteacher can stress me out and block my happiness.” But, in the same instant, I thought, “I love teaching; it really does bring me happiness!”
In the midst of my reflections, I recall saying to myself: “You may tend to think that happiness comes from sources outside of yourself; but what if this isn't true. Instead, what if genuine happiness arises from within us?” As I began to explore this idea, I considered the case of spontaneous singing and dancing. As a Kindergarten teacher, singing and uninhibited dancing are essential for engaging and connecting with my little learners. It strengthens our class community by igniting happiness inside all of us, myself included.
Though I am your Guide for this steppingstone, I am, by no means, a guru when it comes to happiness. Instead, probably like you, I am just doing my best to pay attention to how I might cultivate happiness from the inside out and, in so doing, enhance my life’s meaning and purpose.
In retrospect, I can see how my mother’s words (back in the kitchen of my childhood) were intended to motivate me to pursue a life bounded by security and abundance; but I now see how her words have led me to seek my own truth in life. As a result, I’ve been experiencing happiness, not as a destination at the end of a long road, but, as the ever-evolving path that has become my life.
