Are you HAPPY?

Are you Happy?

Today I saw one of the best pictures that described happiness.

The thought process goes like this. Ask yourself: Am I Happy? If the answer is yes, then the answer is simple, Keep doing what you are doing. If the answer is NO, ask yourself “Do I want to be happy?” If the answer is YES then change what you are doing. If the answer is NO, keep doing what you are doing. The choice is yours.

I understand and believe that happiness is a choice. Each morning we have a choice in which way we approach the day. Happy or pissed off. Your choice. Do you wake up and grunt, groan and moan that you would rather be back in the bed. Or do you wake up, embrace what is in front of you, the day that is yours to use and look at the opportunities it will provide. It doesn't matter what opportunities you face, it is how you deal with them that really determines your outcome. Are you choosing to make the best of it or are you going to find the whine in it? Your call.

Waking up with the thought that I want to be happy will get you start looking at what do I have to do to be happy. You see the moment you ask how can I be happy or say I want to be happy you begin to find happiness. So, to make the day, your day, it is critical to look for the positive. The good in the time you have. This month I have had the chance to meet one of the bravest men I think I have ever met.

Let’s call him Bill, and we will call him that because, well, that’s his name. Bill has lived a very full life, he has lived, traveled, experienced so much and has been in love and loved by a wonderful woman. Let’s call her Mary. Yes, that’s her name too… They have felt what I can see is true, deep real love for one another for over 30 years. This is a real accomplishment in this day and age of disposable relationships. Commitment. They lived and loved and even fought and got mad too. The point is they chose to be happy.

Well, growing older has it’s challenges as many of us know. Bill, over the years has seen his body break down some. Over time his kidneys lost some of their function and had to start dialysis. No big deal, he and Mary handled it. They still did things, laughed, loved and lived a full life. She drove; he was the copilot, three times a week to dialysis. Recently Bill was served up what must be one of the toughest diagnoses a person could have. Cancer. Damn! Options are limited. Chemo, surgery, radiation, but only if they can find the source. One kicker, if you choose to treat the cancer, you cannot do your dialysis. Without Dialysis... Life expectancy is 4 weeks.

WOW! Talk about decisions. They really don’t come much tougher than this in my book. BTW The cancer was stage 4 and left untreated would take him in 6-8 weeks.

Talk about lose/lose. Bill chose to turn it into a win/win. This is what I mean by choosing to be happy. Bill chose to hang in there, not treat the cancer with chemo and finally stop dialysis. During this time he had a loving family all around him, continued to tell jokes, make everyone else smile with his strength and humor. He put his family at ease; put his family ahead of his needs. He was and is more concerned about Mary and the family than himself. This is choosing to be happy. He spread joy, peace, laughter and happiness to all that came by to visit and talk with him. Heck he was even telling jokes and making others laugh at every chance.

The point is while we can’t really control what happens, (Bill sure couldn't’t, in fact he had what I call a pretty crappy situation.) we can chose how we react to what happens. Choose to be happy. Bill has!

Now make the choice, Roll Up Your Sleeves and Get To Work!