Secrets of Spiritual Happiness
Secret #14 -- Choose Happiness
By Sharon Janis
Secrets of Spiritual Happiness
Secret #14 -- Choose Happiness
By Sharon Janis
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
- United States Declaration of Independence
The builders of the United States declared that every person has a God-given right to pursue happiness. What a concept that must have been back in their times of hardship and sacrifice. However, being given the right to pursue happiness is still a big step away from finding and attaining that happiness. As Benjamin Franklin also said, " The U.S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself."
Indeed, happiness is a choice for each one of us to make, regardless of what blessings and tragedies have fallen upon our plate of life.
Choosing happiness helps us to think good thoughts, and thinking good thoughts helps to create even more happiness. Instead of waiting for all your desires to be met before you can feel happy, just choose to be happy right now - as is. Simply decide, "I am going to be happy," regardless. Then, even if you're going through some discomforts or troubling times, you'll find that spiritual happiness remains alive like a fresh stream flowing within you.
If you are focused only on your temporary feelings - always asking yourself whether this thing or that person is making you feel happy in each moment - then you'll spend your life at the mercy of outer events that may not always be under your control. On the other hand, if you choose to be happy, your experience of happiness is back in your court. Say out loud, "I choose to be happy, right here and right now." Say it, and mean it.
Choosing to be happy doesn't mean that you stop making efforts to improve your circumstances, but that you stop making them with stress and doubtfulness. With a happy spirit, pursue your goals with your best efforts. Choose to be happy, and universal grace may even find ways to surprise you with blessings far beyond your imagined goals. By choosing happiness, you'll be more likely to take clear-headed and clear-hearted actions that can also help to bring your outer life into greater harmony with your essential nature.
With faith and trust, allow the universal power of grace to flow through your life. Don't block that grace with fears, worries, or doubts. Watch your life with happy eyes, and you'll find a happy life.
When one goal manifests, don't be upset thinking, "Where is the other one?" Just be grateful that one has manifested, and let the positive energy of your gratitude feed back into the universe and create even more positive results.
Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize that nothing is lacking, the whole world belongs to you!- Lao Tzu
It is ultimately your decision to choose happiness. Why not choose to focus on what is good in life? Appreciate the fact that maybe you did find a pretty good place to live for now. Or maybe you found a job that is not exactly in the location you planned, or in the field you thought, or in the pay range you wanted, but instead of complaining, you say "Yes" to God. "Yes, I will look at the positive things that have come. I trust you, and I trust the universal perfection that expresses fully in my life. I trust that whatever else is meant to come of my goals will come at the right time, with the nourishment of my clarity, faith, and right effort. I choose to be happy - right here, and right now!"
Instead of waiting for something to make you happy, you can choose to feel joy about anything. Right now, there is something in your life that you can feel joy about. Just by feeling that joy, you will be putting out more "joy energy" into your world, and that same joy will reflect and come back to you even more abundantly.
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