Happiness
“Signs, signs everywhere there’s signs, blocking up the scenery breaking up my mind, do this don’t do that, can’t you read the signs…” Tesla
More than any other time in history, due to print, radio, movie and television media, computers, MP3’s, iPods, iPhones, etc., we are bombarded with information of every type. There is so much information it is mind boggling. It comes to us and at us from every angle and source. What is most unfortunate however is the majority of the information coming from the news; in the song lyrics; read in magazines; watched on TV, etc., is not uplifting, edifying, or encouraging. It does not promote self-confidence rather, it instills fears and anxieties.
Our minds are so much like computers it is imperative we treat them accordingly. You have heard the saying regarding computers, garbage in garbage out. Well, our minds are the same for if we put garbage in that is what is going to come out. This makes each one of us our own “gate keeper” not only for what goes in, but for what comes out as well.
We are responsible for what we listen to, read, watch, or say. That being said, very few are truly responsible gate keepers therefore, very few have peaceful hearts and calm spirits. Most are filled with fears and anxieties to the point of having to take one or several medications; all the while wondering why. The reason for this is not difficult to figure out. As a matter of fact it is quite simple for it is what you allow to fill your mind and heart. More than likely your mind and heart are being filled with information spun by the newspapers, TV News, internet news, newsmagazines, fashion or gossip magazines, trash novels, the economy, or the negative talk of friends. The bottom line is it isn’t healthy to listen to any of this nonsense.
As I said above, the only thing this negative information will do is fill you with doubt, fear, anxiety, depression, jealousy, bitterness and the like. The best thing to do is to make your own news. Learn to live your life the way YOU want to live it doing so on your terms. Make the choice to live your life to the fullest. You can do this by doing that which Jim Rohn said, “Learn to design a life rather than simply making a living.”
The problem is, it is nearly impossible to design a life when you busy are listening to others tell you how bad everything is and how hard it is going to be for you to make it. When that is the case you are not focused on what you can do, but on how hard things are, how difficult it is going to be, and that more than likely you are not going to be able to do it anyway so why even try. Once again you are filling your heart with all sorts of negative ideas and concepts leaving little room for you to have any space for happiness in your heart.
Happiness for most of us is fleeting. It is here one minute and gone the next. The reason is due to the fact our happiness is usually based on how we feel, how things are going, how much people like us, how well we are received, how much we make at work, whether or not we received the promotion, how our day went, how traffic is, etc. The truth is you are the only one having control of your own destiny unless that is you give this privilege to others.
This is true regardless of your circumstance. Paul the apostle said he learned to be content in whatever state he found himself and he found himself in many bad situations such as being shipwrecked, beaten, whipped, imprisoned, stoned, and all sorts of perils. What had happened in his life was he made a decision to be happy. He made a decision to accept where he was and make the best of it knowing with the power of his thoughts and imagination he could and would get out of these situations and into better circumstances.
The same thing happened in the case of Nelson Mandela. His prison warden for 18 years in the prison on Robben Island, Christo Brand, called Mandela a friend and a model prisoner. Despite being incarcerated for 27 years under extremely difficult conditions, Mandela went to great extremes not to hold grudges against many of those tasked with keeping him behind bars. Why did this happen? It happened because Mandela made a quality decision to be content and therefore, be happy in whatever situation he found himself.
Here we are, the majority of us free to come and go; free to choose what we do, read, say, or go and yet, we are not happy. That is because our happiness is based on the wrong things. It is not based on who we are meaning we are creatures made in the image of God and thus have an imagination capable of providing us superiority over all other creatures. It is based on what we are meaning of all those on the planet earth, we can think, reason, and choose; we have the highest IQ and can use our minds and subconscious minds to dream and create what it is we need or want.
It is up to us to do this just like it is up to us to make the choice to be happy. It is up to us to design our life. It is up to us to decide what we want and then go get it. No one else is going to do it for us. No one else can make us happy. It is up to us to decide how our life is going to be.
Like Vivian Greene said, “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” The rain falls on the just and unjust alike, but your response will be what determines whether you are happy or not. It is about learning to have an attitude of gratitude for in doing so you will find happiness is more within reach.
When one reads the poem by BJ Gallagher they find a lady who has determined to find happiness in every situation.
Here is her poem called, Weather Report.
Any day I’m vertical is a good day
…that’s what I always say
And I give thanks for my health
If you ask me, “How are you?” I’ll answer, “Great!”
Because in saying so, I make it so
And I give thanks I can choose my attitude.
When Life gives me dark clouds and rain,
I appreciate the moisture
That brings softs curls to my hair.
When Life gives me sunshine
I gratefully turn my face up
To feel the warmth on my cheeks
When Life brings fog, I hug my sweater
around me And give thanks for the cool
shroud of mystery That makes the familiar
seem different and intriguing.
When Life brings snow I dash outside
To catch the first flakes on my tongue
Relishing the icy miracle that is a snowflake
Life’s events and experiences
Like the weather, come and go
No matter what my preference
So what the heck I might as well decide
To enjoy them for indeed there IS a time
For every purpose under Heaven
Each season brings its own unique blessings
And I give thanks… always
Best of LUCK as you
Labor Under Correct Knowledge…
Respectfully,
Rick Cox