Faith, Hope and Happiness

How can a person feel happy when the world seems like it is falling apart and cascading down around them and they feel like they are stuck in an avalanche unable to run? I know there are many people who feel this way right now. They feel discouraged, stuck, and paralyzed by fear. They are afraid of losing their job, their benefits, their home, car, etc. How can a person in a situation like that have any hope for feeling happy? There is hope and when there is hope, there can be happiness. The happiness I am referring to is not tied to the desperation and fear one is feeling – it is tied to the hope and faith that through the right actions things will get better.

There have been several points in my life when things looked bad for me. At one point, I went from having a housekeeper to being a housekeeper almost overnight. I could barely feed my daughter and I found out just how creative I could be with the small amount of money and resources we had. During that time though, I remained positive and happy. I could have been miserable and I could have gotten away with it. If I allowed myself to get down in the dumps, certainly everyone would have understood why. They would have been right there commiserating with me as I dug myself deeper in self-pity. For whatever reason, it never occurred to me to take the negative route. Instead, I decided to make a game out of the situation. Every time something came up, like a bill or a broken down car or an empty refrigerator, I would come up with a plan and I would get to working on executing it. As I faced numerous obstacles, I found myself laughing when I should have been in tears, because I knew deep down that this was only a test. I even repeated to myself the public service address, “This is a test. This only a test.” I owed it to myself and to my daughter to remain positive and determined to get us back on our feet. I fought the battles and I am sure I shed a few tears along the way, but at the end of the day, I went to bed happy and proud of myself for not allowing another situation to defeat me.

I knew things would get better and when I came out the other side, I would be stronger and wiser. From it, I learned there is nothing I cannot do. I stayed happy because sad did not appeal to me. Sad is not productive. Sadness deteriorates hope. Hope is what we all need to survive even in the worst of times. Hope is the light at the end of the tunnel and it brings faith. Faith is what provides us with power greater than us. I have always found happiness in knowing that everything happens for a reason and through hope and faith and a little hard work, I will pull through gloriously.
When life is throwing massive crap balls at you – you have a choice. Stand there and take the direct hits or do your best to dodge it. No matter what, you will get crap on you occasionally. When you find yourself in a mess, laugh it off and figure out a way to get out of it. Have faith that no matter how bad it looks right now it will get better. You will get through it. We always do.

Make the decision to be happy no matter how bad things are around you. You will gain strength in happiness. You will also draw the right people to you when you have a happy demeanor. Especially when you are down and struggling, positive and proactive people is what you need to help you through it all.

Through hope, faith and action you can get through the hardest of times and remain happy along the way. I know you can!