What It Means to be Happy - Despite Difficult Economic Times

I love having a journal and putting down on paper my thoughts, ideas, questions. I recently wrote about what it means to be happy - even during difficult times.

Excerpt from my journal dated March 26, 2009:
I'm finally reading Tuesdays with Morrie. My daughter brought it to me while I was in the hospital a few weeks ago. Having just experienced a scary health issue, and having survived a life-threatening illness nearly three years ago, I have a different perspective from some as I read the book. I understand how it feels to lose control of your life, of certain physical abilities. I understand to a better degree how short life is and what we need to do to be happy.

Happiness seems to elude so many people and they continue to search for it in all the wrong places. Sure, having enough money to meet our needs contributes to an easier life. But true happiness comes from within each of us. Yes, it is possible to be happy in spite of any difficult circumstances. Much has been written on the subject of happiness. And I'm sure that anything I write has already been written. Yet I feel a need, am compelled, to write down my thoughts and feelings on the matter. Maybe the way I word it will change just one person's thinking. I don't need to change the world. But if I can influence even one person - that's enough.

Have you ever noticed that unhappy people are usually very negative? Often the more we try to reason with a person to try to help them focus on what's positive in their lives, the more they find to be negative about. It's as though they don't really want to be happy. On the other hand, there are those who seem happy, positive, and find the good side in every situation. Sometimes their attitude is so upbeat, it's hard to believe it's real.

Then there's me, and others, who do get down once in a while. We do get upset, angry, frustrated, sad, depressed. Sometimes it feels as though we just want to crawl in a deep, dark hole and never come out.

YET - we are usually happy, positive people. We don't allow our negative emotions to become our primary focus in life. We may have a bad day, week, or even months. But our overall attitude is happy, positive, upbeat. People around us know we have a positive, happy outlook on life. They understand that there are times we get down. But we don't stay down!

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