Happiness?

Is it overrated? How frequently are you truly happy? Do you believe in happiness or not? What is your take on happiness – do you feel it’s something you have to work for, something you must attain or it’s a choice you make regardless of your situation.

My mother used to say, happiness is what you create for yourself? Do you agree? Disagree? Indifferent?

In my daily devotion, The Power of a Praying Woman a Book by Stormie Omartian the chapter I read yesterday was centered around choices! That we all make choices intentionally/unintentionally every second of every day. Let me explain – I’m going to use my own words of course but the underlying concept is the same.

Picture it, little pieces of paper with words that describe an emotion– joy, happy, thankful, depressed, afraid, crying and so much more in a little bowl. Now, someone says – pick one and whichever one you keep, you carry that emotion into the next few days. You are allowed to pick up a paper, read it, return it if you don’t like it, pick another – it’s all up to you! I bet you 99.99% of people will pick something positive, something uplifting and return anything discouraging -why? Cause who wants to feel depressed, sad, afraid etc. If we can easily make the choice, why not choose happiness, joy, laughter etc.? Apply the same theory directly to your life now – whatever negative feeling you are feeling, it’s a choice you are making. Granted, the feeling may be very valid, but they become invalid when we decide not to choose to pick something else that overturns that negative feeling. These are choices we all make - sometimes willingly but I’ve learnt/seen, we forget that it’s our choice to make?

John 10:10 says: The thief does not come except to steal, to kill and to destroy.

 

1 Peter 5:8 says: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

What this tells me is that the phrase “life is unexpected and full of ups and downs” although true to an extent, we are the architect (God the overseer) of this thing called OUR LIFE and our happiness. The moment we decide to make the choice to be happy regardless of what shit life throws at us or to pick ourselves up when we fall (cause we all fall repeatedly) we start to have a better hold of our life and choosing to live fulfilled as God promised us.

On the other hand, if we decide to bask in negative emotions, we are choosing this way of life. If we open that window – all other negative emotions begin to flow. Your heart/soul becomes the perfect playground for that roaring lion to steal whatever shred of hope/joy you had left! Mix into that anything literally that makes us lose control of our faculties or behavior, lose vigilance – suddenly one negative emotion becomes various negative emotions from nowhere because we didn’t see it coming.

Have you ever met someone that attempts to drink or smoke their problems away?  Have you ever heard of a success story as a result? What is the uniform result? Either it takes them down or they turn their life around. It’s really that simple! Nothing ultimately positive has ever come out a repetitive dysfunctional habit like that … maybe they get a short term high but once your eyes have cleared and mind is temporarily sober – you relive the feeling all over again. It easily becomes a dysfunctional cycle when you make yourself believe that rough short-term high is better than dealing with the hard truth that although shit happens, and l feel horrible, if l deal with the actual truth – l can learn from it and get over it with God (and time).

Ephesians 5:18 (KJV) says: And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.

I think it’s absolutely fine to drink… but everything in moderation (“and even moderation in moderation” from the amazing Maya Angelou in her Super Soul Conversation with Oprah) but remember to stay alert which is one thing I have learnt this year among so many other things I have learnt and decided to make a choice to live by.

Written with Love,

Pamela