Forgetting to be happy

WE LIVE in an era where information is power. People who have the ability to quickly assimilate data and knowledge are able to manipulate people and events to their own ends.


As a result, we are obsessed with the procurement and hoarding of information. Devices like the mobile phone, the PDA, and the PC are indispensable in helping us retain information. We delight in our efficient storage of daily reminders, phone numbers, addresses, progress reports, meeting minutes, discussion agendas, schedules, birth dates, anniversaries, appointments, and other data, but most people still find their lives empty.


Why?


Well, perhaps they have forgotten to store the most important reminder of all -- to be happy.


Hmmm? Forgetting to be happy?


"How is that possible?" some may ask. "One is happy when one is happy. Happiness doesn't need reminding. I know I'm happy when ... when I'm not unhappy!"


But happiness does not mean an absence of unhappiness.


Too many things in life can make us unhappy -- missing the bus, getting our expensive leather shoes wet in the rain, falling ill during a vacation, losing our phone, paying too much for something, or our date stands us up.


There is no sense in putting off happiness until we have eliminated all the things that make us unhappy.


Happiness is a choice, an emotion we can consciously activate regardless of how miserable and frustrating the day may seem. Reminding yourself to be happy may not solve your problems, but it sure makes you feel a whole lot better! A heart full of joy will probably find life's downs easier to bear and to rise from.


So remind yourself constantly to find joy in little things -- smile often, be generous with your compliments, share jokes, help a colleague, pet an animal, treat someone to a meal, laugh heartily, and be thankful for your capacity to appreciate life and all its gifts. -- From the Internet.