We won't be going to Arizona as we planned, nor even to Florida or Georgia this Spring Break. We have had too many things happen recently to enjoy this trip. We also have too many things to do at home, that we have neglected for far too long, to spend a week away. We might take a few days and go to Charleston, SC. We'll see.
Happiness isn't some outcome when everything is going great.
Happiness is the context of how we interpret and respond to life's moments.
We care for Ralph and carry him where he needs to go and nurse him back to health.
We keep Suzzie comfortable as her life ends. We hold our children and cry along with them when we lose her.
We call our friends and family and listen with our empathy and sympathy to their own tragedies and conflicts. (A friend recently lost her mother and is now undergoing another major life change. My older children are all in various states of health or wealth flux. A cousin was just diagnosed with a life changing illness. My sister balances professional and home life with two young children while her spouse is rehabbing from a surgery. Life never seems "normal," does it?)
Happy people not only embrace the good and the pleasant, they endure the bad and the difficult. We understand that both are required. Strength comes from love and support of each other. Sadness is not despair.
Life's hurts and losses deepen our understanding and appreciation of life's blessings and pleasures.
We become happier, on a much deeper level, because we have endured.
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