The State of Happy
“What we call the secret of happiness is
no more a secret than our willingness to choose life. ~ Leo Buscaglia
To be happy, versus choosing a state of happiness, we must look at two different states of our mind. Anyone can be happy. It is a matter of choice. During any moment of any day, someone can live life, be present, accept the moment and feel joy in their surroundings, grateful for what they have.
Sometimes they can be difficult, but they can be happy.
The word happiness, however, is a state that implies constancy, at least to me. We strive for happiness, but do we ever get there? Once we obtain happiness, what are we? Happy.
We are happy this moment, for the moment is all that there is.
If we strive for happiness, however, then it is always out in the future. In striving, we are not present. Do we want to be consistently seeking (or striving)? So many advertisements and books promise happiness. But if we strive for it, then the promise is always in the future.
In the moment, however, we are not happiness, we are simply happy. The ads should promise “happy.”
Happy isn’t constant, it simply is an emotion for now. Nothing in life is constant, and though we don’t always realize it, this is actually a good thing.
We don’t want to be constantly sad. That would be depressing. And even when we feel good, our emotions waver up and down. Sometimes we feel joy, sometimes we feel calm or peaceful. In the middle somewhere we feel happy. We can be any of these things, and feel any of these emotions.
Perhaps the difference between happiness and happy is simply wording. I tend to think words can be powerful. Just as we can be powerful. We have the power to change our emotions each moment of each day.
For this moment, I choose to be happy.
--Tina Su
Photo by: Scarleth White
“What we call the secret of happiness isno more a secret than our willingness to choose life. ~ Leo Buscaglia
To be happy, versus choosing a state of happiness, we must look at two different states of our mind. Anyone can be happy. It is a matter of choice. During any moment of any day, someone can live life, be present, accept the moment and feel joy in their surroundings, grateful for what they have.
Sometimes they can be difficult, but they can be happy.
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