Happiness is a Choice

"There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second." ~ Logan Pearsall Smith

I recently overheard something that surprised me. I heard that people who win the lottery are happy for about 3 weeks. Yes! Only 3 weeks, and then they go back to their previous state of being, before they won the money. This really did surprise me. I thought that they would have been happy about something so amazing for much longer than 3 weeks.

Did you know that 90% of all people who win the lottery are broke within one year, and that most of those wish they had never won it in the first place?

I think the reason for this is, that anytime we try to change how we feel by using something outside of ourselves, like winning the lottery, or getting a new car or house, it never works. The resulting feelings of euphoria are often only fleeting. We cannot sustain them for very long. Perhaps, in some way, that is a good thing. It reminds us that happiness really does come from within and is available to us at any moment. True happiness has very little to do with what is happening on the outside, it is an inside job. Happiness is a choice. It is a state of BEING.

We can make the decision to BE happy for one day, when we wake up in the morning, every morning. We can find something that brings us great pleasure, like sitting outside in the garden under an old tree and listening to the birds sing, or watching the dog or cat play, and just savoring the moment. Happiness is always available to us. It is our natural state and we need only allow it in. At any moment, we can stop, take a deep breath, and remember who we really are, and why we came here, and that truly is to experience joy and the aliveness of being.

"Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

So, dear heart, today, no matter what is going on in your life, take a few moments to breathe deeply and just decide to BE happy, whatever that means to you.

Veronica Hay