Monday, November 7, 2016

What's Happiness Have To Do With It?

If we were happy 100% of the time, would we even know we were happy? Would we be happy if we had all that we wanted? Would that bring happiness in our lives? What even is happiness? And what does being happy all the time have anything to do with life?

"Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something." These words are truth to me and you know what? That's alright; it's alright that life is painful. It's alright that life is not this hyper-happy thing 100% of the time. How would I even know to appreciate the happy times if I didn't go through so much pain in the first place? I would most likely take all those precious moments for granted. I don't think I would truly realize and understand how wonderful small happy moments are throughout our day, week, year, or life without the pain life brings. So, pain is alright because it helps me fully enjoy those moments of happiness when they come.

In comparison to the universe and the infinite, our life is nothing. A small blip on the map. A single breath. A blink of the eyes. It lasts a second, no, a millisecond. A lot spend that millisecond trying to make it happy the whole time and when they ultimately fail, they feel like something's wrong with them. They feel like something missing in their life because they're not happy all the time. But nothing is missing from your life. You're not happy right now? You're in a painful time right now? Well... That is life. None of us are promised some grand, happy, satisfactory life. Even when we think things like, "If I had more money..." we have to realize that won't make you happy all the time either. Why do you think there are so many unhappy rich people?

Acknowledging that life is full of pain is just a first step of realizing you're alright. But if you stay in a defeated mindset, because life is pain, that is wrong too. Instead of staying and living in the defeat of life because you're not happy, live your millisecond by taking each day in stride. When you're living out the pain of life press on. Keep going. Don't stop. Don't let it defeat you. It hurts. It sucks. But don't let it beat you to the ground. And when those moments of happiness come fully enjoy them. Immerse yourself those moments while they last. Don't let the pain creep in during those moments. The pain will come back. The heartache will come back. So don't let worry ruin those moments. My wife and I had a leaky roof for a long time. Every time it rained it was a reminder of our financial situation and how we couldn't afford to fix our roof. I remember one particular storm where my kids wanted to go play and dance in the rain. I had a choice: live in the pain and reality of a leaky roof or dance in happiness in the rain with my kids. When those small chances of happiness during our millisecond life come, truly let it envelope your mind, body, and soul. Let it consume you for that brief moment. Life may be pain and not happy all the time but that doesn't mean there's something wrong with you or something missing in your life . It just means you have life. A completely normal life. A life that is a millisecond, yes, but a millisecond that so worth living.

1 comment:

  1. I think happiness, though, is a mindset. Some people can still smile through the tears, find the silver lining, and maintain their composure for the most part. Because they live a lifestyle of gratitude and peace and kindness. When we fine-tune our lifestyle to be more positive, we can have a better outlook regardless of pain and hard times.

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