I think happiness really is an art. Situations, incidents, events, etc., those things happen, and it's in those circumstances that happiness can be experienced...if you embrace them and learn from them. There is a quote I really love, and I don't remember the author of it, but nonetheless I'm sure he/she would prefer I remember the quote anyway. It goes like this: "Happiness is found when one stops looking for it." What a concept! Thonk my forehead, I coulda had a V8!! When I look back over the last 7 years of my life and when I think of my present life I see, first and foremost, the amazing hand of God, and I notice about myself that I am surrendering more and more each day. They are little steps (I can hear Bill Murray saying, "Baby steps, baby steps" in What About Bob?) that I take, but the older I get, the more I throw my hands up and say, "Okay!", and I continue walking forward. It is in THAT surrender that I feel the happiness grow a little more as time goes by. Why do I surrender? Why not?
I had entered a new school of life 7 years ago when my first marriage ended, and while it was the worst time of my life EVER, it was also the BEST time of my life. I had searched and searched so very hard for happiness in the life I had back then and when it was not around anymore, and when I realized that I had NO control over someone else's choices, however hurtful and out of line they were, I threw it all up in the air and said, "Okay!". I let go and I walked through whatever came my way. That was the beginning of a new road of life perspectives that truly mattered. It was a struggle along the way, don't get me wrong, BUT it has become a new road of faith. It has become a new road of love. It has become a new road of happiness. It has become a new road of joy. There will never be an end to struggles in this life on earth, but the difference between being swept away by them and being victorious over them lies in having faith in God and not only understanding, but EMBRACING the moments at hand. It is when we embrace the situations in our lives that we can gain happiness one moment at a time because we have surrendered, and when we have surrendered, then our hearts, eyes, ears, and minds are open to seeing what we should be seeing in the first place. This truth goes for any type of moment, positive or negative.
Haven't you ever heard people say to you that when you let it go, things work out? And not only do they work out (whether or not they worked out the way you thought they should have), but they work out better!! I'm not saying you have to go through something traumatic and big and heavy like an abandoned marriage in order to learn the art of being happy because certainly you don't. I commend you if you have little to no drama in your life and things always work out well for you. I know people like that. I genuinely say more power to you. But taking in the subtleties of life can teach you new lessons of happiness and joy all on their own. Letting go of the need to control everything (if you're willing to admit that you have that need) will most certainly bring freedom. Most of all, realizing and accepting the truth that God made you, and God doesn't make junk, will in and of itself bring a smile to your heart.
NEXT WEEK: Love with all you have
