Sometimes living in a big city, you compare yourself and what you have
to what other people have. I know that I often find myself caught up in
a race against other people and the things they are doing. Often the
feeling you are left with is, "Why does this person have so much, but I
have so little?" It's not the comparison that bothers me, I find, but
the feeling your left with. The feeling like there's a big hole where
all the appreciation for what's in your life should be.
I find myself often thinking, "Yes, I have this, this and this, but I don't have this, this and this." And the focus always seems to be on the things I don't have, on the problems in my life, on the little failures that don't actually mean anything. And finally, I often ask, "Why can't I be happy, with all the good things in my life?"
Sometimes, when life gets off track, the one and only thing to remember is that happiness comes through trying, not through hoping happiness will arrive. More than that, I realized that for the last couple years, I have been focusing on the problems that are in my life, on the things I wish that weren't in my life. It's kind of like focusing on what you hate, about yourself, about your life, about your day. And then I would try and pull myself out of some deep hole I was in by focusing on what I love and trying to busy myself with that.
What is strange is that when I thought back to those times when I was truly happy, I realized it wasn't because I wasn't focusing on what I loved, or what I hated. Those two things are constantly in a battle for my attention, but that's not how we can be happy. Instead, when I was happy, I was focused not on things, but on people. And not on people that I love, but on the people that love me. It's not what I do, but what others do for me that makes me happy. We can do all the good deeds in the world for our friends, and yes it can give us a kind of happiness. But it's not what we do for our friends, or our families, our peers or strangers. It's what they do for us.
It's not what you have. It's what you are given that makes you happy.
I find myself often thinking, "Yes, I have this, this and this, but I don't have this, this and this." And the focus always seems to be on the things I don't have, on the problems in my life, on the little failures that don't actually mean anything. And finally, I often ask, "Why can't I be happy, with all the good things in my life?"
Sometimes, when life gets off track, the one and only thing to remember is that happiness comes through trying, not through hoping happiness will arrive. More than that, I realized that for the last couple years, I have been focusing on the problems that are in my life, on the things I wish that weren't in my life. It's kind of like focusing on what you hate, about yourself, about your life, about your day. And then I would try and pull myself out of some deep hole I was in by focusing on what I love and trying to busy myself with that.
What is strange is that when I thought back to those times when I was truly happy, I realized it wasn't because I wasn't focusing on what I loved, or what I hated. Those two things are constantly in a battle for my attention, but that's not how we can be happy. Instead, when I was happy, I was focused not on things, but on people. And not on people that I love, but on the people that love me. It's not what I do, but what others do for me that makes me happy. We can do all the good deeds in the world for our friends, and yes it can give us a kind of happiness. But it's not what we do for our friends, or our families, our peers or strangers. It's what they do for us.
It's not what you have. It's what you are given that makes you happy.
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