HAPPINESS

My Joyful Wife

My daughter, Jeneah (Joyful - "In Training")

What Makes a Woman Happy?

Don't have a clue? Just kidding.

But, what really does make a person happy?

I am no expert, but I am happy, joyful, and feel fulfilled in my life,

at least most of the time.

So what makes me happy?

This is not an easy, nor simple question. It probably doesn't have anything to do with me at all, or at least, not to a large extent. Happiness is probably a grace or a gift just like faith. Some people tend to have a happier disposition than others. Some people just wake up happy, while others wake up and have to work at it.

Why?

This is just one of those mysteries that only God knows, and we will know one day when we are in heaven.

Are there things that we can do to be happier?

I think so.

I believe that our happiness has a great deal to do with our own expectations and our frame of mind. What do we expect life to be like? This probably has a lot to do with our upbringing, what we were taught as a child, either directly, or through experiences. But there must be a different component as well, something to do with significant events in our life, our reactions, and our understanding of those events.

I think it is great to have solid ideals about life, but not to expect too much from others. The focus should be more on how we can improve ourselves. I don't mean selfishly, but rather in the sense of judgement. It is so easy to become judgemental of others, when in all actuality, if we judged ourselves more realistically, we would find that many difficult situations are a result of our own short comings.

So how do you keep it all balanced? You don't want to be self deprecating, nor pessimistic, but rather hopeful, and optimistic.

I keep coming back to the idea that we create the world that we live in. Any given day there are many wonderful things that are happening around us, as well as many negative things happening around us. What do we choose to see and place our focus on? What world do we choose to see and live in.

I saw the old movie "Poly Anna," the other day. There really is a positive message in that movie.

Happiness to me is seeing the world that I want to live in, seeing God in the people of this world, and trying to be Jesus to everyone that I meet. It is also to trying to see the positive qualities of each person, overlooking their shortcomings, and always trying to become the person I was created to be.

This is my short and simple explanation on happiness.