A Happy Equation

Perception, Expectation, Change & Connection

Monica Moore

Apr 15, 2024

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Now that I have been in Orange for 8 months, people ask me am I happy here.

On days like yesterday, it is easy to give a resounding yes, although last week when it was cold, windy & raining, I would have also given a resounding yes.

We consciously choose change, or it thrusts itself upon us. And what we do with it will determine our relationship to it.

Will we move forward?

Will we stagnate?

….or will it be one giant botch job that sends us in a different direction completely?

- which is neither good nor bad…it just IS.

All I know is that the more we fight change, the more we invite struggle.

Tell me, what is your relationship to change?

Mo Gawdat says that happiness all comes down to our perception of an event minus the expectation of how we think life should be. I like this.

Coming to a place of being with things as they are is something I bang on about all the time. I know you have heard it all before…but do you dismiss questioning your relationship to change, or do you pause and give it thought? I keep talking about it probably because it is one of the things that causes us the most stress and anxiety. And what people come to me to help them address.

We are where we are because of the events and choices that have led us to the place we are at.

As a healthy middle aged educated, well travelled white woman living in a beautiful part of the world that is safe, with an abundance of food, clean water, a good community, great friends and support networks around me I ALWAYS check my privilege.

It’s really important for me, for us, to do this. It could be so easy to become flippant, and not be empathetic to another, because of the entitlements that are bestowed upon us just by pure chance.

I have been in situations where I haven’t felt safe, that have caused trauma, but I have had options…eventually. I have also had to make choices that have created heartbreak and instability that still simmer away in the background. I have had to step into the uncomfortable and the unknown many times.

But often, despite the very big possibility of failure, I have tried to create an opportunity for something new. It doesn’t have to be ‘exciting’ or ‘visible’ or seen as ‘successful’, it just has to be congruent with the life I want to be in, and expand into.

So yes today I love my new home. I am slowly ingratiating myself into the community whether they like it or not! There are some gorgeous people here. I am gathering a lovely group of yogis to teach, people to collaborate with, and have some more workshops in the pipeline.

But I have also left beautiful friends and communities in other places around the world and here in Australia. Little pieces of my heart are scattered all over. And that’s okay, because I feel at home no matter where I am.

Technology is fabulous. It allows me to work online and is a great connector to all the people I love and those who might get value out of MNL programs, but not live nearby.

The 5 elements that form the bedrock of MNL are move, eat, breathe, rest, connect.

It is all really important, but connection helps all the other bits fall into place and stick.

While starting up again here in the Central West, I have been working on some things that I am really proud of too, that will help connect all the dots of my world, of which you are a part of, together.

I thought I would start off with a weekly stretch - just 20 minutes, on zoom, for free. I can’t promise that hair and make-up will have made it before 7. You, however, can arrive in whatever comfy outfit you wish. It will be a simple stretch, because your safety is paramount.

Friday 19th April, 7 - 7.20am.

The password is 724868

Here is the zoom link.

Simply log on and be ready to start at 7.

Nothing fancy. Just a place to connect and say hi and begin our day in a beautiful way.

You need to do more, than eat nourishing food, exercise, and rest to feel your best.
You also need to be around good people, spend time healing your emotional history,
live in alignment with your values, say no to people-pleasing, stay open to growth,
and deeply embrace change