“Happiness is every human’s birthright” October 8, 2009

I know that I say each day I have a cup of tea and write about what that tea string tag had to say. But the truth is, sometimes I have two, maybe three, cups of tea a day, and other days I don’t have any. So from those days when I enjoy a second or third ration of delicious golden nectar, I have additional tea bits of wisdom to distribute over the days I reach for a more caffeinated beverage or to give me some wiggle room on the topics to write about. You see, some days I just don’t feel like writing about letting your heart guide you, or letting your soul breathe.  I pull more of my inspiration to write on from what is in my head, what I have been thinking about for a few days, or even just at the moment, not so much of it comes from the tea quote itself but how it relates to my life. Today’s quote comes to you from the archive of inspiration.

I decided to write on this excerpt today because the idea of happiness has been on my mind the past couple of days. What exactly is it? Does it have an actual definition, or is it relative? Does its definition depend on the person it applies to? How does one attain said happiness? And, as the quotations states, is it our birthright? I don’t pretend to have it all figured out, but this is what I have come up with. God, or whatever higher power you believe in, wants us to be happy, that I am sure of. But is that happiness he wants for us based off our idea of happy, or his? Is happiness a gift or a reward? Is it just given to us or is it something we work toward? I think both are true. There are simple things in life that make us, who know to appreciate them, happy. A beautiful sunset, the sound of birds singing in the morning, the crisp fall night air, watching children play and hearing their laughter, are all examples of simple moments that bring happiness to our lives. They are all out of our control. They are natural, pure, organic moments we simply get to sit back and enjoy. These are the gifts given to us to enrich our experience here on earth.

The other end of the happiness spectrum is the rewards. What is a reward? Something you strive for, a goal, a positive end result, motivation, a driving force. I’ve found myself saying the same thing to several different people in the past few months, but it’s something I strongly believe in, and  after all knowledge is meant to be passed along isn’t it? “You must take an active role in your happiness” or some variation of it. You can’t just sit on the side lines thinking about what you want out of life or what would make you happy. You have to go out there and make it, take it! Your level of potential happiness is only limited by your minds ability to imagine it. That’s not to say you have to think large to achieve happiness, after all the man who moved a mountain started by removing stones. I was corresponding with a good friend this morning on happiness and what it means, what brings happiness into our lives. She opened my eyes to the smaller, simpler happiness rewards in life, before speaking with her my mind was on the big life events, work, money, where you live, but she thought happiness, everyday happiness, was a much less complicated thing.

She gave me a list off the top of her head of things that make each day happy in her world. Among them were: When I get a text from my honey that just says “MUAH”, finishing my morning workout and realizing how strong I am, Hearing my kids say “I love you mommy”, coming home to a clean house. All these things are rewards in the sense that you have to put some work into them before you can reap the reward. Relationships aren’t always easy; they require work to stay happy and healthy. Motivating yourself can be a challenge; the comfort of a warm bed can tempt you to ignore the gym is calling your name at 5 am. Raising children who are appreciative and loving can be a tricky task. And in order to come home to a clean house, you have to clean it. All these things require effort on her part. Yet she does them without a moment’s hesitation, because she knows that without daily maintenances her world would be a less happy place.

I think I may have started to ramble, so I digress. My point, what I am really trying to say, is while happiness may be our birthright; we still have to work for it. We have to put the effort in to accomplishing our goals in life, recognize and be thankful for the gifts we’re given, and learn to maintain the happiness we’ve achieved. It seems like a lot of work, but really, what other option do we have?

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