Finding Your Happy

What does it mean to truly be happy? This may seem like a silly question, but if you really think about it, it becomes quite clear that happiness must be objective. Happiness to one may be different than happiness to another.

I've realized that outlook and perception have more to do with happiness than the situation itself. I believe its okay to grieve, and its okay to feel sad. That's normal. But its the picking yourself up and the grasping on to whatever it is that puts the light back into your eyes and the smile back on your face that matters most.

Your happy may be on a silky linen blanket on the cliff overlooking the ocean in your hometown, a much too relatable book that you just can't seem to put down, a rod and reel that you hold in your hands as you fish on one of your favorite boats, or a prayer that you utter from your lips whenever the clouds begin to darken the sky. Your happy can be whatever makes your heart full and encourages you to forget whatever it may be that threatens your joy.

When I've been lost or afraid, or have felt the weight of a thousand waves crashing down upon my shoulders, I've made my mission to find my happy. And yeah - sometimes its hard and that happy doesn't really take the pain away for good but it takes it away for a few minutes and you have a little reprieve in which you can bob above the surface for just a moment. And a few weeks may pass before you truly have your happiness within your reach again. But no matter what, you have got to keep striving for it, working toward it, having the faith and hope that eventually you are going to feel that joy always.

Your happiness is up to you.

The way you see the world changes as you grow - it changes with each new experience you have, each new person you meet, and each new lesson you learn. And its up to you to see the light and the good in whatever it is that is tossed your way. I believe that the worst thing you can do for yourself and your peace of mind is to allow negativity to weigh down on your heart.

Happiness comes when you learn how to see the stars in the sky even when your world seems to flood from the storm. Outlook is everything. You can't be happy if you view everything that happens as a disaster and a setback.

Learn from the heartbreak and the sadness and try to see the good. Odds are, there's a pretty good reason why whatever is happening is in fact happening. Trust that God has a plan because I can assure you that he does. You don't have to have it all figured out, and I can safely say that at twenty one years old - I'm more lost than I was at eighteen. And that's the strange, peculiar truth of growing up. You never really do reach a point where you've got it all figured out - it seems that the older you get, the more confusing life becomes and the more you do and don't understand. But no matter how confused I sometimes feel, I know my priorities must remain on God and happiness above all else. There's no other way to keep that joy shining on in my heart like a flame.