Choose Happy!
"If you want to be sad, no one in the world can make you happy. But if you make up your mind to be happy, no one and nothing on earth can take that happiness from you." -Paramhansa Yogananda
When I was a young teenager, my family went through some really tough times. I allowed myself to become angry and hateful. My mother tried to reason with me, but I built a wall and shut her out, resenting her more. Finally in desperation, she wrote me a long letter. The things she wrote to me were life changing for me. I still have that letter tucked away. In essence, she told me what Paramhansa Yogananda said above.
There are times that we all experience deep hurts in our lives. We can choose to become bitter, hateful, and resentful. But when harbored, those feelings grow and grow, filling you with a greater wound inside.
Imagine instead, replacing those feelings with forgiveness and compassion. This does NOT mean that we need to keep those who have hurt us close. It may take time and effort, but turning our sorrow and pain over to God, our divine source, can bring you that miracle you hope to find. This simple act of surrender and faith can return us to peace and ultimately bring happiness back to our lives. We choose - not what happens to us, but rather we choose how to respond to all that comes in this journey.
I am grateful to my mother, and my Savoir for their loving guidance and support even when it seemed I had shut them out completely. I look back and I am so thankful that I decided to choose peace. My life is very different now than it would have been had I remained in my bitterness. It is not to say that I don't have times of sadness, but I have found love, compassion, and happiness again. THAT is a beautiful miracle.
Quote Collection:
- “I
live in a magical place. God is woven into the fabric of life
here..., but like most of us who are overwhelmed with work, dishes,
laundry, errands, and the zillion and one other tasks of daily life,
I simply don't stop long enough to pay attention or be nurtured by
the experience. Instead I tear through the day, checking stuff off
my to-do list, then fall into bed exhausted.” Blessed by Ellen
Michaud – “The Storm”
- "When
you come to the edge of all the light you know, and are about to step
off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things
will happen: There will be something solid to stand on, or you will be
taught how to fly." -Barbara Winter
- "Wisdom comes with what you let go of, not what you hold onto." -Terri Trespicio in October 2011 Whole Living
- “I've never met this morning. . . I've never experienced this very hour, or felt this very sunshine touch my skin. Golden. Healing. Warm. The birds, the breeze, my breath, are all new. Each ushers in never imagined intentions and never dreamed of possibilities. So...I choose to live THIS DAY, while also honoring Tomorrow.I will live, laugh, love, and practice without leaving a trace. I will ground my feet. . . I will stretch my palms to the sky and I will say: Hello day! I like you. I'm so happy we've met. . .” -Ad for Manduka in "Yoga Journal September, 2011"
- “Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose – a point on which the soul may fix it's intellectual eye.” -Mary Shelley
- “Gratitude is the intention to count your blessings every day, every minute, while avoiding, whenever possible, the belief that you need or deserve different circumstances.” -Timothy Miller
- “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” -Mahatma Gandhi
