Oh So Happy

Do you believe you deserve it? Do you believe you've earned it? Do you believe you created it?

Happiness.

A word we all strive for, a word we all crave even if only silently, and yet a word that trips us all up. A word we can't ever seem to fully grasp with our hands. Is happiness possible or is it an illusion, a fairy tale that's called the "American Dream"?

I want to be happy and yet it seems that at times I sabotage the very things that will make me happy. I've also been told nothing ever makes me happy. Is it possible I fear being happy? After all, when you're down the only place to go is up but when you're up the only place to go is down. Right?

To me there is a difference between joy and happy. Joy is peace, that calm in the eye of the storm. Joy is centered around Christ, not me. Happy is a feeling, something that we can create. Happy can be taken from me just as easily as it's given.

Regardless of what you believe religiously I think we all agree on the fact that happy is something we all want. So, how do we get it? And how do we keep it?

The saying "if you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything" rings so true; in fact, if you don't know what you stand for, if you don't know who you are then you'll never fully like the life you have and you'll never fully be happy.

I have a great life. I love being me. I also endure my share of heartache and shed many tears. I. Am. Happy. Why? Because life's circumstances don't define me nor do they dictate my future. I'm happy because I choose to be that way, regardless of what's going on. I have my off days, but I quickly get back up again, dust myself off and refocus where I'm looking. I'm happy because I stopped worrying about if I deserve it and I just accepted the gift it is. I'm happy because I'm loved.

You are loved too. You just have to decide if you're going to accept it...and be happy...or not.