Happiness is a Choice

It's so easy to give up when you think the world has let you down. But what about when we let ourselves down? Over the last few days I have given much thought to happiness and what steals it from us as well as what brings it to us. What I discovered was fascinating in it's simplicity. I recall a quote that fits this blog quite well, "sometimes in our pursuit of happiness we need to stop and just be happy". How radically revolutionary is that statement.

As we grow and mature in life I think we lose sight of what joy and happiness even looks like. Beings that we live in a world that promotes and proliferates cynicism and doubt at alarming rates it is no wonder that we struggle to put a smile on our face. Sometimes we have to allow history to be our guide as well as our predictor of the future. There have been moments in all of our lives to where we enjoyed a bit of happiness. Let's look at those segments of time to draw a correlation between then and now.

When we look at the heart of any matter we must be subjective in our view. The people, places, or things that bring happiness to our lives may bring hate, resentment, and fear to others. I recall a lady friend one time sharing a story to where she finally got back at the wench (her words) that destroyed her family life. In her words that brought her temporary happiness. I use the word temporary because we can never lift ourselves up by pushing others down no matter the circumstances. Sure she had bitterness towards this person yet the grudge she held allowed the lady to live rent free in her head. It wasn't that the confrontation brought happiness, it brought closure. But the closure was the door to her happiness.

We often forget that happiness is not a state of being like some would want you to believe. Happiness is a lifestyle. It isn't something we can simply adopt it is something we have to train for constantly. In order for lives to have any semblance of joy and happiness we must look to those things that fuel our passion and bring hope to our existence. That in and of itself is one of the center pieces of this blog. We can't give up on love because others promote hate. You can't give up on dreams because they don't always come true. Life isn't about a heightened sense of awareness or euphoria, life is about learning to live. When we learn to live the life we have been given we can then learn the principles of happiness.

Have you ever looked at the things that divide us? I am not talking about the division between family and friends that arises from political or religious differences, I am talking about the divide that exist in our own hearts. This is the one thing that robs us of our happiness and our future. We have lived a lifetime trying to fit in when we were born to stand out. We follow a crowd that is as lost as we are. Our mind says this yet our heart says that. We have lost hope over confusion in our own soul. We can, however, build a bridge inside us that will unite our dreams with our heart and our hope with our soul. That requires a willingness to let go of what was and seek what can be. We are not chickens desiring to be eagles, we are eagles acting like chickens. Our lives are worth so much more than the minuscule value we place on it. The greatest gift we can give ourselves is the permission to be our own person. Living in the shadows of others only creates a copy that bares little to no resemblance to the person we can be.

Happiness is in the heart, is a very true statement. We just have to believe that our hearts desire to embark on a journey that in the past our mind has not allowed. It is time to align our heart with our mind so as to give fire to our soul. When our soul is on fire people will come fan the flames and then the path illuminates and your life takes on new meaning. It is so easy to find and cling to every excuse under the sun as to why you can't find happiness. The truth is simple though and that is where we must focus. If you want to be happy, stop searching for it and just be happy. It is a conscience state available to us all. It takes practice no doubt, but it is worth it. Stop allowing your life to be defined through a prism with limited colors. We are not here to be miserable we are here to be incredible. I urge you to stop searching high and low for a happiness that is already there. Tune out the drama that  you have created and start to build on the joy that God placed in your heart from birth. Your life is waiting for you to show up and live it. Personally I think it is time you choose to live. Remember happiness is a choice that does not include anything that divides. Bring your heart in alignment with your soul and trust me your mind will follow. The gates of awe and wonder are here and have been unlocked, now the decision is for you to walk through it.

peace and love
Dale