Is happiness a choice? Is it a mere decision we can make at every point in life? Can we always say that the glass of water is half full instead of being half empty? Can it be made full by believing that it is full when it is really not?
What shall we say to the beggar who has not eaten in days?
What shall we say to orphans who have just lost their parents to war?
What shall we say to those who were falsely judged and imprisoned?
What shall we say to the unloved, to those who never even knew what it’s like to have a friend?
Is it easy to decide to be happy? Is it even possible to find peace when a hurricane looms over you, ready to tear you apart?
I am not saying that it isn’t possible;
I am not saying that we cannot.
Yet say not so easily that happiness is a choice
and that at any point in time, we can choose to be happy.
Say instead that we can choose to approach God Most High
and that we can enter His sanctuary.
Say that we can surrender there
and let go of our tears.
Say that we can ask for Grace, for Strength, and for Healing.
For this we have a choice
and with this we can have Hope.
Finally my friend, we can hold on to that Hope
and believe that we can find
what it is we’re looking for.
This article was written by Jocelyn Soriano at www.itakeoffthemask.com
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"Of Waves and Butterflies: Poems on Grief", "Mend My Broken Heart", "Questions to God", "To Love an Invisible God", "Defending My Catholic Faith", and more - click here.
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3 replies on “Is Happiness a Choice?”
1 I worked for used to tell me hey kid u have no shoes but look next to u they have no feet!
The greatest success stories show people who have chosen to rise out of their crappy situations.
I agree that we cannot be happy all the time but we can decide to be happy.. to find a way to rise out of the misery we are in. Happiness is a choice, albeit not an easy one. Healing is, as you said, also a choice. Healing could just be a step towards happiness.
Much of everything is a choice.
I believe circumstances dictate our emotions and our emotions drive our happiness. Pretending to be happy after a tragedy is only pretending. Choosing to be happy during a tragedy makes about as much sense as choosing to not feel pain after you have burned yourself, or that hunger is a choice when you have nothing to eat. Happiness is not always a choice.