Your very first breath. Your very first cry. Your very first smile. Ahhh! These all signaled that glorious moment of your arrival. You were born. And our world was never the same!
With your miraculous birth came your undeniable claim, your indisputable privilege, your inalienable birthright. Your happiness. Yes, your gift to yourself and to the rest of the world.
But what is happiness, really? Is it a buzzword that people just nonchalantly throw around in social gatherings? Is it the poster-perfect image that people plaster on their social media accounts? Is it popularity in terms of how often your picture appears in glossy magazines or mega billboards? Is it your number of “friends” on Facebook or your number of “followers” on Instagram? Is it the attention-grabbing, shiny cars parked in your garage? Is it the grand vacation that you take to “get away from it all”? Is it your handsome paying job? Is it your highly diversified portfolio? Is it your gallery of certificates at home? Tell me now. Is it any of these external pleasures that are here today ….. and yet, may be gone tomorrow?
Well, we all have our own version of happiness and that’s totally okay. In fact, it’s wonderful that way. We’re all entitled to our own brand of happiness. As we navigate in our journey towards happiness, we may take different routes. Others may prefer to focus outward. Still, others may prefer to search within. It’s all a matter of mindset. It’s all a matter of perspective. It’s all a matter of meaning that we attach to things, to experiences, to people that we encounter in our lives.
Happiness is a gift wrapped in a variety of ways. It’s our choice to unwrap this precious gift and maximize it. It’s our choice to share it with the rest of the world too.
And what gives us the power to be authentically happy? Regardless of what’s happening around us. What gives us the ability to truly embrace happiness, to inhale it, to taste it, to savor it, to relish it, to be in the moment with it, to linger in it, to play with it, to relax with it, to grow with it, to learn with it, to work with it, to partner with it, to live with it, to love with it?
Ultimately, WE are the power of happiness within us. We decide to be happy. We choose happiness. We become happiness personified.
Does that mean that we put ourselves in a box and cease to be human? Does that mean that we need to surgically implant smiles on our faces just to ensure that we “look happy” all day long? Does that mean that we deny our other colorful and necessary shades of human emotions?
Oh no!!! Farthest from that. For happiness goes beyond flashy smiles and buoyant spirits. Happiness goes beyond mantras and positive declarations. Happiness is more of a steady, grateful smile in the heart. That may shine ever so brilliantly for all to see in energized festivities or even glimmer quietly in solitude in the dark. For happiness is not about what happens around us. Happiness simply reflects the beauty and strength that we possess within. Through the different seasons of life.
Yes, happiness is our birthright. Happiness is our gift of ourselves to the world. We were born to be happy. We were born to inspire. ❤️
So, what’s your kind of happiness ? ❤️
IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE 