"HAPPINESS IS A STATE OF MIND"
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| Photo credits:@sammilk |
In
today’s post I would like to start by sharing a short story about myself.
In my childhood and teenage years I spent most of my time alone and feeling very lonely as well except for when my siblings were around which wasn’t very often because they were always in senior classes that required them to be at school more than I did. I remember feeling like I was always sad, like something was missing and so I spent my days thinking about becoming happier one day.
I would go on for hours daydreaming of a time when I am completely happy in a perfect world where I had everything I wanted and all people admired and loved me. In turn I became more motivated to work for my happiness, everything I did was geared towards achieving this objective because this was a promise I had made to myself.
First, I told myself i was going to work hard at school so I can have a great career. This would give me the power I needed to never feel inadequate or inferior to anyone. Second I was going to get everything that I could not afford at that time and ensure I never lacked anything, thirdly I was going to marry a prince that would love me unconditionally and make me feel special.
You see for me these were the things that would make me happy once I achieved them or so i believed. As I grew older I realized life was far from perfect what I used to dream of all those years were nothing but fantasies of a little girl trying to escape from the harsh reality she was in.
Long
story short, I achieved some of those goals but majority I didn’t and when it
was evident things were not happening according to plan I grew desperate. I became mad at God for allowing me to live through a miserable childhood and even now that i was older He still wasn't letting me get what i had worked towards all those years.
Feeling dejected i knowingly started growing distant from Him. Instead of finding the happiness I chased so long I achieved the opposite; I fell into depression. Moral of the story? I was chasing an illusion. You cannot find happiness anywhere no matter how hard you try because it’s not something you find. HAPPINESS IS A STATE OF THE SOUL. It is independent of any external factors, motivations or circumstances.
Feeling dejected i knowingly started growing distant from Him. Instead of finding the happiness I chased so long I achieved the opposite; I fell into depression. Moral of the story? I was chasing an illusion. You cannot find happiness anywhere no matter how hard you try because it’s not something you find. HAPPINESS IS A STATE OF THE SOUL. It is independent of any external factors, motivations or circumstances.
Most
people like the young me, struggle every day to do a lot of things and
accomplish stuff because they think it will make them happy. So they are in a
constant state of wanting more and looking for something better. If only they
found a better job, make more money, found a better spouse then for sure they
would be happy.
Happiness
is not something to be found
My
own experiences led me to learn two very valuable lessons . I call them secrets
to being happy
First
is that people who are happy are not those who do not face challenges and hard
times or those who never experience rough days. There is no one person in the
world that has never experienced challenges or rough days in their lifetime.
Pain is the one thing common to all humanity; it is what makes us human. Some
even say that pain is a uniting force. The experiences of betrayal, loss,
hardships are all familiar to every person.
#Secret 1: You do not need to live a problem free life to
be happy. It is a choice you make.
Secondly,
God loves those who acknowledge Him. He speaks to us each day, reveals Himself
to us in all that is around, it’s only that we are too busy to pause and
listen. He is real and always with us even though we can’t see Him. Man was
created to worship God, to have a constant relationship (spiritual link to Him)
with Him and as long as he is separated from God there will always be a void
that seeks to be filled. That’s the reason people seek gratification from
material things (sex, drugs, possessions, entertainment, money, power etc.)
which is only short-lived. Despite achieving all these they are left still incomplete and
desolate.
#Secret 2: Having a personal relationship with God is the only
way to gain ultimate happiness. The bible describes it as joy.
What does being happy mean to you? Tell us in the comments section below, hit the like button and don’t forget sharing is caring! 🙆🙆🙆
Love muchly,
Liz 😍😍
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