Happiness Is Now
We convince ourselves that
life will be better after we get married, have a
baby, then another.
Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough
and we'll be more content
when they are. After that, we're frustrated that
we have teenagers to deal
with. We will certainly be happy when they are
out of that stage.
We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when
our spouse gets his or
her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able
to go on a nice vacation,
when we retire. The truth is, there's no better
time to be happy than
right now. If not now, when?
Your life will always be
filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to
yourself and decide to
be happy anyway. One of my favorite quotes comes
from Alfred D. Souza.
He said, "For a long time it had seemed to me that
life was about to begin
- real life. But there was always some obstacle in
the way, something to
be gotten through first, some unfinished business,
time still to be served,
or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At
last it dawned on me that
these obstacles were my life."
This perspective has helped
me to see that there is no way to happiness.
Happiness is the way.
So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure
it more because you shared
it with someone special, special enough to spend
your time... and remember
that time waits for no one.
So, stop waiting until
you finish school, until you go back to school, until
you lose ten pounds, until
you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until
your kids leave the house,
until you start work, until you retire, until you
get married, until you
get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday
morning, until you get
a new car or home, until your car or home is paid
off, until spring, until
summer, until fall, until winter, until you are off
welfare, until the first
or fifteenth, until your song comes on, until
you've had a drink, until
you've sobered up, until you die, until you are
born again to decide that
there is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey,
not a destination.