True Happiness

Happiness is it’s own reward and leads to more happiness. Even pretending to be happy can make us happier. Consider the following story.

In 1875 a cleaning woman named Mary St. Clair had saved £60 and hidden it at home. Her ex husband arrived in town and soon after her money went missing. Mary was naturally very angry and wanted her money back but when the local constable arrived, she was arrested for swearing. When he heard her story he then went on to declare her a lunatic and had her locked her up in the local gaol.

I can sort of picture Mary as an angry person, standing up for her rights and giving the constable a piece of her mind. She might have been yelling or screaming or stamping her feet. It is unlikely that she was standing serenely trying to explain the situation calmly.

Our actions don’t usually have such sever consequences, but they certainly lead to the repsonses we get. A naturally happy person who lost a large sum of money would spend time trying to get it back. The anger would be tempered by the knowledge that anger should be channeled into useful action. A happy person is more likely to be believed, trusted and assisted.

An unhappy person believes things will end badly and so helps bring to pass the very thing they don’t want. Our actions affect others reactions and there is nothing we can do about it.

There is a saying that “whether you think you can or think you can’t you are right”. I would add that “whether you think you are happy or think you are sad, you are right”. We are only as happy as we choose to be and if we choose happiness, then we bring more of it into our lives.

Mary spent two weeks in the miserable conditions of that gaol, before they realised she was sane and she was allowed to go home. That was a high price to pay for allowing herself to get so carried away with anger that a constable thought she was insane.

Bad things will still happen to happy people, challenges and sometimes tragedy are part of life, but if we can just belive that we are happy, then we have much more chance of making it come true. I know that from personal experience.

Have a happy day - Nikki