I friend at work sent the message below around in an email he titled, "Worth A Read." I admire how he has dealt with adversity and used it to grow. I'm trying to show the same level of dignity he has shown in dealing with obstacles and small minded people. I've seen a lot of people go through some of the things he has and become bitter. Actually, that seems to be a norm. But Robert rose above it. Like all of us, he can't achieve happiness everyday, but he damn sure tries. Her is what he set me:
Worth a Read:
We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married,
have a baby, then another. Then we're frustrated that the kids aren't
old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that, we're
frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We'll certainly be happy
when they're out of that stage.
We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets
his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a
nice vacation, when we retire. The truth is, there's no better time to
be happy than right now. If not now, when?
Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this
to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. One of my favorite quotes
comes from Alfred D. Souza. He said, "For a long time it had seemed to
me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some
obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some
unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then
life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my
life."
This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness.
Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and
treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special
enough to spend your time with... and remember that time waits for no
one.
So, stop waiting ... until you finish school, until you go back to
school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you
have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until
you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday
night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your
car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until
winter, until you're off welfare, until the first or fifteenth, until
your song comes on, until you've had a drink, until you've sobered up,
until you die.
There is no better time to be happy than right now.
Stop sometime today; stop thinking about all the stuff that you're worried about and just enjoy something. Practice spending at least 5 minutes just being happy. Dare ya!
Jann
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