“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
– Abraham Lincoln
Years ago, while attending Overeaters Anonymous meetings to help heal the eating disorder I’d had since adolescence, I became familiar with the above mentioned quote. It both annoyed me and intrigued me.
How, I wondered, am I supposed to be happy when I’m coming home alone each night to an empty apartment?
How can I be happy when I’m still so overweight and out of shape? How can I enjoy life when I have so little money?
I wanted to dismiss those words as a relevant to my life, spoken by a man who understood nothing about the kinds of challenges most of us face today.
However, the more I understood Abraham Lincoln as someone who experienced many bitter disappointments and failures, the more I couldn’t just dismiss his words as some Pollyanna philosophy spoken by a person who knew nothing of how hard life can be….
…We cause our own unhappiness by refusing to accept life on life’s terms. And unhappy people tend to create unhappy relationships or none at all.
We’ve heard of the studies that indicate married people are happier than unmarried people and seen this as evidence that being married makes you happier however we’ve also got to consider the possibility of happy people are more likely to attract love into their lives than unhappy people are.
And creating happiness begins with accepting and surrendering to, the life you have right now. As is. Failed expectations Complete with disappointments, struggles, and heartaches.
All of it. As it is right now.
“Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may BE In, therein to be content.” -Helen Keller
My next article will include helpful Practice in Action to better implement our understanding.
Thank You for Caring & Sharing- Cheers
Tessa Brauer
Excerpts from
“Calling In The One”- By Katherine Woodward Thomas
