Happiness & Wisdom...

How do you make your own happiness? Dad used to say it was a decision... just like love. He would say, "You decide each morning when you wake up ' I will be happy today.' " I have to say, he was always a happy person. Singing and humming to himself or to anyone that could hear the tune deaf songs he would sing. Even when times were rough or when his body wasn't as cooperative as his mind. He always said that happiness wasn't a thing that happened, it was what we made it. He also has always said that between happiness and love that he is the richest man in the world. And that real riches aren't based on your bank account. He also had his theories on marriage and love (which must be true to a point since they've been married almost 34 years...) He always says that once you make that commitment it's the decision to stick with it that makes it love. The love feelings (lust and passion) and the other stuff come and go, but you decide - Yes I am, or No I'm not going to love this person. Yes I am or No I'm not going to support them. Yes I am, or No I'm not going to be here for them. I'm finding at this wonderful time in my life that I think Dad was/is one of the smartest men I know. No college education, but he had the knowledge of life and he tried everyday to pass that onto us. Hopefully, if I gain anything in this life, it's learning how to be happy. Not just accepting that where I am is where I am and telling myself I'm happy, but actually waking up everyday and finding that reason for happiness... Tomorrow I will wake up and be that eternal optimist that I always try to be, and tomorrow I will smile when the alarm goes off, and I will smile and shrug my shoulders and relax and listen to the music on the radio when I get stuck behind that slow driver because there may be a very good reason that the man upstairs doesn't want me two minutes ahead of where I am. Tomorrow, I will wake up and find that reason for happy, and I will take time to enjoy the little bits of sunshine in my busy day, and I will kiss my kids goodbye and remember just how they look leaving for school. Tomorrow I will get up, and check my attitude. A wise uncle of mine gave me the following two bits of wisdom, and said they are words of wisdom that he keeps with him daily, and I have to say, I have never seen him without a smile on his face...

ATTITUDE By CHARLES SWINDOLL
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on my life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge or our Attitudes!”

SUCCESS
(Author unknown)
“To laugh often and much…to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends…to appreciate beauty…to find the best in others…to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition… to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded.”