Unconditional Happiness
Despite some pretty major life challenges at present, I am on the whole, a very happy woman. When I realized this, just the other day, it rather caught me by surprise.
Like many of you, I was raised in a culture in which I learned to be dissatisfied with what I have and to always strive for more. Wanting more and striving for it is not a problem. That creates growth. What COULD BE a problem is what drives it. If dissatisfaction drives your ambition, then it truly doesn’t matter how much more you get or what you achieve; you’ll never be happy.
Remember, you get more of what you focus on. Dissatisfaction breeds more of the same.
Happiness does not depend on circumstances.
Happiness is a choice. It is a way of looking at life and seeing beyond the immediate to the overall sweetness. Yes, I have a partner with terminal cancer. I focus on the first part of that sentence, not the latter.
Yes, my children are often in emotional pain and that makes my heart hurt. I focus on the fact that they are both working on it and making progress. At their age I was also in emotional pain. We grow from it. With luck, they’ll arrive at the same place I am today—happy in spite of circumstances.
Dissatisfaction no longer drives me. I want to get better but not because I think there’s anything wrong. I remember a teacher long ago asking, “How good can you stand it?” That’s what drives me today.
So I am asking—how good can YOU stand it?
