“Clap you hands.”
“Stomp your feet”
“Shout Amen”
Sorry, had a flashback of childhood memories there…I bet you did too!
Happiness.
Why is it so fleeting? Does it necessarily need to be so? Why is it that when you’re happy, other people try to “bring you down”, try to “steal your happiness” or “burst your bubble”?
How can someone “share your happiness”? Dang it. It’s MY happiness, I don’t want to share! Get your own!
I’m a huge fan of the “Peanuts” cartoon created by Charles M. Schulz. When I was a kid I bought his book “Happiness Is A Warm Puppy”. It’s Charlie Brown and the gang sharing their wisdom; telling us that, basically, it’s the simple every day things that make us the happiest.
Think about that for a second.
“It’s the simple, every day things that make us the happiest.”
Do you think that’s true? Do we often take the simple things in life for granted? And if so, does that mean we take our happiness for granted?
Happiness cannot simply be defined. It is many different things to many different people; which leads me to believe happiness is based on an individual’s perception of their environment filtered through their experiences and emotions. Oh, and let’s not forget the role of “expectation”.
Expectations are to be lived up to or exceeded. Once you’ve done that you’re allowed or supposed to be happy. Disappointment usually follows close behind if expectations aren’t met. Simple.
I’m meandering a bit, but I have often wondered just who’s expectations we are supposed to live up to. We all have our own expectations of what we desire. Toss in the expectations of our parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, friends and co-workers and we all have quite the load to carry! Am I not right?
Let’s make it real simple – because it’s “the simple every day things that make us the happiest”…
Ask yourself – “what does God expect from me?” Or maybe “what are God’s expectations for my life?”
Can you disappoint God?
———
Ok, I have no idea where to go from here.
I wrote this originally on December 4. I put it aside hoping the words would come to me from out of the ether so that I could conclude this blog entry and have it posted by the 9th or 10th. It is now the 13th.
No words have come.
So, I am going to post this “unfinished”. Maybe at some point, when the time is right, the words will arrive which will enable me to complete the entry; then again, maybe not. That is not for me to say.
Like many other things in life, I am peacefully and thankfully placing this blog entry into God’s hands. It’s His “problem” now and I am more than sure He is more than capable of handling it.
And in that belief, I find happiness.
Dan’s View 
Thanks Dan, it would seem that the bottom line for happiness is about being intentional about choosing to be happy.
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Hey Jack, thanks for reading my blog consistently even though it’s not updated consistently. Your comments are appreciated. Happiness is all around us. It is a choice more people need to be more willing to make.
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