16 Dec The gift of happiness (from Lionel Ketchian)
Tis the season! Wishing you the very best holidays and a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah! In keeping with the season, I have a gift for you. Actually, the universe has given this gift to you: The gift of Happiness. The first thing you have to do with your gift is try it on; wear it from the inside out. Once you put it on, you will never want to leave without it. Happiness has become fashionable; it is catching on quickly, and spreading fast.
The interesting thing about this gift is that if you don’t use it, it is not worth anything, even if it has tremendous value. You have to know something is valuable to benefit from it. Happiness is one of the most valuable things in the world. Most people don’t even know the value of happiness, because they don’t know what happiness is. Happiness is mental health, peace of mind, a great attitude, a positive vision, a contributor to good physical health, and a friendship magnet.
Happiness is the foundation for love and compassion. Happiness has different meanings for different people, but it always possesses the same basic component, which is having gratitude for what you already have. As Charles Dickens said: “Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes of which all men have some.”
Happiness is not getting up in the morning and hoping you have a nice day. It is getting up and knowing you are going to make it a great day. It is not waiting to hear someone pay you a compliment so you can feel happy; it is treating people with respect no matter what they say. With happiness you will not become disturbed or negatively affected when other people think you are above taking things personally.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said: “It is not the level of prosperity that makes for happiness but the kinship of heart to heart and the way we look at the world. Both attitudes are within our power, so that a man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy, and no one can stop him.”
Happiness is meeting the “problems” of life head on with the tool bag of choices available to the happy individual. Happiness is not a thing; it is a state of mind. Happiness is a decision that is made in one clear moment, which will positively impact the rest of your life. A good decision does more to create the best future for you than anything else can.
I made the “Happiness Decision” on December 24, 1990. I have practiced “being happy” since that time, and it has never let me down. Happiness works, and the proof of that is more books are being written on happiness than ever before. Even psychology has adopted and tuned toward happiness.
The choice remains, which will you, choose? Will you choose happiness or unhappiness? You’re always making that choice anyway. Have you been letting your emotions make the choice for you? It’s time to let your thinking determine the best decision for you to make.
The greatest reason for using the gift of happiness is the fact that happiness is the opposite of fear. Believe me, you do not need fear running your life. Fear is mankind’s biggest problem. Happiness is powerful. Try smiling at someone and you will see what I’m talking about.
Decide to use your gift of being happy and choose happiness in every moment, over every obstacle and every problem you encounter. You will become the most powerful person in the world. You will develop the power to gain the strength you need in order to have control over yourself. That is the authentic power of being happy.
Happiness is your present! The present is your gift! Use your gift and appreciate the present. Andre Gide said: “In order to be utterly happy the only thing necessary is to refrain from comparing this moment with other moments in the past, which I often did not fully enjoy because I was comparing them with other moments of the future.”
Be grateful for your present, for it contains something wonderful inside. Open your present and look inside. Do you see what I see? I see happiness! Be grateful for your present. Smile, you have been given more than you know. JOY TO THE WORLDê¢__‘Ô_ ESPECIALLY TO YOU!!!
BE HAPPY ZONE by Lionel Ketchian. Published in the Fairfield Citizen-News on December 3, 2008