Friday, August 15, 2008

Choosing Happiness


Picked up a new book at the local library this week. "Choosing Happiness" caught my eye, as I am always looking for inspiring quotes & positive thoughts to pass along to our practice members & friends. As I flipped through, I came across a passage that made me think:

" How many people are genuinely happy? I don't mean happy because they've just met the man or woman of their dreams, or because they've got a new car, or a new house, or the job they've always wanted. I'm talking about being inwardly happy. I'm talking about having a wellspring of inner joy and peace...How many people do you know like that?"

Wow. And I began to wonder, am I inwardly happy? Are my friends & family inwardly happy? Or do we allow the outside world to dictate how we are feeling daily? It's far too easy to let ourselves get caught up with the outside world & believe that it can make us happy. Do you ever say to yourself, if I only get ______ then I will be happy.

I believe that happiness comes from the inside. We have the opportunity to wake up each day & be happy, regardless of what is going on in the outside world. We can face challenges with a spirit of joy and peace & choose not to let them effect our state. What a difference that could make in our days, weeks, months & years.

I invite all of you to think about this. Are you truly happy? What can you do each day to remind yourself that happiness comes from inside & is not controlled by the external world? We know that our thoughts can affect our health. What effect could pure happy thoughts each day have on our lives? Why not try it & see what happens.