to be or not to be

A person will be as happy as they make up their minds to be
--Abraham Lincoln

I believe that, I do. So why do so many of us choose to be unhappy. I choose it too, and don't know why. Of course there are times that things happen beyond our control, that for a moment would make it impossible to feel happy, but if we are talking about happiness in a more general sense I do believe it is a choice we make. What is it that causes so many people to be afraid to be happy? Sometimes I think that it is I allow myself to be happy, and then something happens and I lose it, that recovery will be that much harder. If you never let yourself get to high, you know you'll never fall too hard. . . but I guess you'll also never see the view from the top and I think there is a good chance it's pretty amazing. It comes down to deciding if its worth the risk. I think that a lot of people also feel guilty about being happy, when they know others around them aren't. It's like when you get in a group of girls, and someone starts talking about their flaws, the instinct is to jump in with your own. . . like that scene in Mean Girls where Lindsey Lohan says she has bad breath in the morning. There is a quote from a book I really enjoy that says "you can take back your life, suffering is not noble, you are allowed to jump for joy." I know for me that's really important to remember. Conversations can often turn to a contest of who is the busiest, most stressed etc, as though it is a contest, and the winner is allowed to wallow in their self-pity the most. But suffering is NOT noble, and in many instances is a choice, one that I don't need to keep making.

Here is where this turns even cheesier. . . but there is a book i got to use with some of my kids, that says, "I can make today the best day ever, by the things that I say and the things that I do." We have the power to make our lives better, my challenge to myself is to start using that power.

"Be the change you want to see in the world"