On the front page, you will always find a message from our CEO who strives to be a servant leader. This month's message was a story shared to her by a doctor and it is a lesson I need to be reminded of constantly. I want to share with you that story, hoping that you will be as convicted as I was.
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. We tell ourselves all will be well when they are older. Then we are frustrated because they reach adolescence, and we must deal with them. Surely we'll be happier hen they grow out of the teen years. We tell ourselves our life will be better when our spouse gets his/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, then when? Your life will always be full of challenges. It is better to admit as much and 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 ARE life. That point of view helped me see that there isn't any road to happiness. Happiness IS the road. So, enjoy the moment.
Stop waiting for school to end, for a return to school, to lose 10 pounds, to gain 10 pounds, for work to begin, to get married, for Friday evening, for Sunday mornings, waiting for a 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 reborn... 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.
I Love My Life. My Joys Are Simple.
I Am Happy.
WOW!!! You are my favorite "blogger"! After reading this, I was reminded of one my favorite poems - The Station. It is about riding on the train of life and after the intro it says: But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at certain hour, we arrive at the station. Banks will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there so many wonderful dreams come true and pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. ...."When we reach the station, that will be it", we cry. "When I'm 18", "When I buy a new Mercedes Benz!" "When I put the last kid through college" "When have I paid off the mortagage", "When I get a promotion", "when I reach the age of retirement"... Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
ReplyDelete"Relish in the moment" is a good motto especially when coupled with Psamls 118:24 "This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laughe more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.
Keep Happy and enjoy the ride - it will have a few bumps along the way but that is where God helps us, thanks for the reminder. I love you!!!
Your favorite uncle,
Scott
Thanks. I needed this.
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