Be Happy Each Day and Help Each Other

 

Be Happy Today and Help Each Other

This is a story written by that very famous and prolific writer, Anonymous, sent to me by a friend.  I've adapted it here.  See if it resonates at all with you:

We convince ourselves that life will be better once we are married, have a baby, then another.

 

Then we get frustrated because our children are not old enough and that all will be well when they're older.

 

Then we're frustrated because they reach adolescence and we must deal with them.  Surely we'll be happy when they grow out of the teen years.

 

We tell ourselves our life will be better when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we have a nicer car, when we can take a vacation, when we finally retire.

 

The truth is, there is no better time to be happy than right now.  If not now, when?

 

Your life will always have challenges.  It is better to admit as much and to decide to be happy in spite of it all.

 

For the longest time it seemed that life was about to start.  Real life.

 

But there was always some obstacle along the way, an ordeal to get through, some work to be finished, some time to be given, a bill to be paid.  Then life would start.  I finally came to understand that those obstacles were life.

 

That point of view helped me see that there isn't any road to happiness.  Happiness is the road.

 

So, enjoy every moment.  Stop waiting for school to end, for a return to school, to lose ten pounds, to gain ten pounds, for work to begin, to get married, for Friday evening, for Sunday morning, for that new car, for your mortgage to be paid off, for spring, for summer, for fall, for winter, for the first or the fifteenth of the month, for your song to be played on the radio, to die, to be rich…before deciding to be happy.

 

Happiness is a voyage, not a destination.

 

There is no better time to be happy than NOW.

 

Live and enjoy the moment.

                                                        …..Author Anonymous

My comments:   Now, I know that there are times when life is so difficult that it's tough to be happy in that moment.  In the difficulty you might try to remember to stop for a moment, take a deep breath, and remember how precious life is and how precious you are.  I think Anonymous is telling us to live in the moment, not in the past and not in the future.

And speaking about being happy, some time ago at the Seattle Olympics, nine athletes, all mentally or physically challenged, were standing on the start line for the 100 meter race.  The gun fired and the race began. Not everyone was running, but everyone wanted to participate and win.

 They ran in threes.  A boy slipped, fell and started crying.  The others slowed down and looked behind them.   They stopped and came back--all of them.

 A girl with Down's syndrome sat down next to him, hugged him and asked, "Feeling better now?"  They all walked shoulder to shoulder to the finish line.

 The crowd stood up and applauded and the applause lasted a very long time.  People who witnessed this still talk about it.  Why?  Because deep down inside we all know that there's something much more important in life than winning ourselves. It's important in life to help others to win.  Even if that means slowing down and changing our own race.

A candle loses nothing if it is used to light another one, the saying goes.  But, doesn't our own candle magically burn brighter when we light someone else's candle?