"there is no duty we so underrate as the duty of being happy. by being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the world." robert louis stevenson
this is going to sound a little crazy but i have never been happier in my life than i am right now.
"sanity and happiness are an impossible combination." mark twain
things aren't going spectacularly: i am not healthy, wealthy nor wise. but i am happy. the kind of deep seated happiness that isn't conquered by fretting, fatigue or falling short of the mark. a genuine state of mind - and a conscious choice.
"most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." abraham lincoln
i mentioned to a co-worker that i was not concerned about the future, because i am making the right choices - and when i do what is right, things work out. heck, even when i am wrong, they EVENTUALLY work out anyway! so i don't see a reason to get worked up over, well, anything. i know i haven't always been this way, and we all know i won't always maintain this outlook, but right now it is easy for me to say that being happy in the midst of trials is possible.
"my life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet i'm happy. i can't figure it out. what am i doing right?" charles schulz
her reaction was to ask me how i knew i was making the right choices. all i could offer was the fact that i have made enough decisions in my life - some stellar, some good, some adequate, and some truly atrocious - to recognize the feel of a good choice. and the need to trust in it and MOVE FORWARD ...
"action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action." benjamin disraeli
once i make a choice and move forward, i invariably find times when i need to make course corrections - one tiny degree of change now can lead to a place miles away from my originally anticipated or desired destination. i have made these course changes many times of my life - when i look back over the last 20 years worth of choices, i can promise you i would NEVER have plotted to be where i am! but each choice, each change, led me to here and now and, while getting here a little richer, thinner, and with less grey hair would have been nice, i do not want to change where i traveled or (more importantly) the experiences i have had that brought me here. having said that, there are still things i want for my future.
"to be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness." bertrand russell
this is where my capacity to dream, fantasize, plan, discuss, ponder, re-word, attempt, and try, try again come in so very handy. and this is where the "rubber met the road" in deciding to believe that i could be happy even when everything seemed to be going to heck in a hand basket. for me, happiness has not been found in things, people, or even the magic pills my wise counselor convinced me to try (side note: anti-depressants do not make you happy. rather, they level the playing field in your head so you can see more clearly and choose happiness). for me, happiness has been found in forgiving (others and myself), being good and kind (to myself and others), and abandoning comparisons wherever possible.
"you will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. you will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life." albert camus
now, this isn't all sunshine, butterflies and rainbows - there are days where happiness moves beyond elusive to downright obscured. experience has shown me that the only way to survive such attacks on happiness is to remind myself "this, too, shall pass" and never, ever, give up. even at my most depressed, i have known that it wouldn't last forever. even when i have wanted to stop hurting so much i believed ceasing to exist would be the best solution (don't anyone freak out and think i am suicidal, but hey, it is a reality that severely depressed people often hurt so much ANY option is preferable to continued suffering; but most of us hold on - by the skin of our teeth if need be).
"the grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for." allan k. chalmers
there is always something i want to do - read the next book, visit with that special friend i miss dearly, see another play on broadway, eat that dessert (you know, that one with the this and the that?), accomplish that task i wondered if i could, hug my sisters again, and ... the list goes on. there are so many people and things to love (family, friends, strangers on the internet, friends of friends and yes, even enemies; micro fleece sheets, mint chapstick, BOOKS!, stuffies, a great pair of jeans and pets). and there is always something to hope for - laughter, time with cherished people, improved health, love, success, and always learning.
"happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." mohandas k. gandhi
i couldn't agree more ...
------------------------------------
your turn - what do you think about happiness? what makes you happy? do you have any favorite quotes on happiness? please share!
little victories ...
1 week ago
5 comment(s):
I find true happiness a fleeting thing...and I wonder if that makes me more normal or very abnormal. There are definitely things that make me truly happy. My husband, my children (most of the time) and even some "things". There are many things that make me unhappy...too many to list. I wonder if "happy" and "joy" are synonymous in their most basic forms...because even though sometimes it is hard for me to be happy, I can find joy even in the little things. HMMM. Not you got me thinking.
K.
I wish I was in a place of Happiness in my life. Things that make me happy are hugs and kisses from a certain 4 year old. Hearing "I love you" from either of my boys. Knowing that my hubby loves me despite my weaknesses.
What a great post, Catherine. I love all the quotes. Thanks for the thoughts. I agree that happiness is a choice. Lots of things make me happy, but the funny thing is that with the right perspective things that really bother me or make me angry can make me happy too. For example, I was trying to help Luke with his homework and both he and Jake were goofing around telling jokes, being silly. I was starting to get mad. I had better things to do and wanted to finish. Then I realized how silly I was being, took a step back and changed my perspective. How great that they both love each other and love to be silly together. How wonderful it is to hear them laugh. What cute little fellas they are. Same situation. Different perspective. So I am working on finding those happy moments more often.
Happiness is never stopping to think if you are. ~Palmer Sondreal
I agree with Kris' comment that happieness is fleeting sometimes. But I also think that true happieness is kind of a sub-concious. That nothing interferes, if you are truly happy. I like the sub-concious better :)
Btw, my blog is Kaitlin's Cooltastical Blog.
Catherine, can't even tell you how much i loved this post, really hit home. Here's a quote on happiness I'm loving:
Happiness cannot come from without. It must come from within. It is not what we see and touch or that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is that which we think and feel and do, first for the other fellow and then for ourselves.....Helen Keller
I do think that Happiness is a pretty significant power that has such a profound influence and love the fact that Helen Keller shared this quote, someone who could have easily chosen to be unhappy, but she chose to find her own happiness.
Post a Comment