Hanging on to Happy

I suppose that I write often about finding your happy place.  The world these days (and truthfully throughout time) is a beautiful but sometimes sad and horrid place. I read a quote that I like, Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace during the storm.

 

This is true, the storms will come.  Life is unpredictable and complicated, even for those that you might think have a perfect life.   I greatly respect those that have their faith and find comfort in "putting things in their God's hands".  For me, life taught me very early on that I was going to need to take care of myself.  I'm not good at trusting in someone else to fix my problems or soothe my heart. I do constantly strive to keep things in balance. 

 

I doubt that very many human beings are immune to feeling deeply sad or outraged at life's cruel unfairness or just plan tired and weary.  Whether on a close and personal level or as a part of mankind, the sad is very persistant in trying to rob us of our happiness. So, how do you hang on to happiness? 

 

Unfortunately, there is no magic cure. Even a caring diety wouldn't always give you the answer that you want to your problems.  Life is not a big whole, it's pieces---thousands of parts of all sizes and importance, stacked and piled and strung out. You have the choice of how you organize those pieces. When some are broken, or you've worn them out or they just don't seem to fit, YOU have to decide what is to be done with that piece of your life.  Maybe it can be fixed or perhaps you need to find a new piece.  If something is particularly painful or worrisome, it might not can be thrown out, but it can be pushed down or away.  Make it smaller or more distant, don't carry it around on your heart until all the good and valuable parts of your life are diminished and darkened by the bad and sad.

 

This isn't a Pollyanna---just get over it and accept point of view. This is reality.  We are small in the overall scheme of things. I have a friend that I recently told how much I appreciated that on social media, etc. she posts beautiful pictures of nature, sweet animals and mostly positive sharing. I've found that even when I'm having a bad day, I can't help but feel joy when I see those good things.

 

It sometimes is just a very small piece that you can share and sometimes you could give every piece that you possess and it would make no difference. You can hang on to happy, but it often means letting go of other things. You are not solely responsible for the well being of every person in your family or the world. You are responsible for your own happiness.