The root for the word happiness is hap, the same for the word happen or happening. It  suggests that in order for happiness to occur, something (presumably good) has to happen. 

Lots of things make us happy – a nice big bowl of ice cream smothered in hot fudge and whipped cream, a child getting good grades, negative test results, a new car, a pay raise, a new outfit…the list is endless. Happiness is amazing.

But what if those test results tell a different story? What about times when challenges come (and they will),  and the feeling of happiness goes away? (and it will) What then? Is there an alternative to misery?

Yes! You can choose JOY!

Anne Frank explained it best when she said of her circumstances, “I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.”  

Life is a series of challenges, both good and bad, so I don’t have to tell you how hard it is to be happy all the time. But joy is an attitude – a viewpoint – a decisive, settled thankfulness to find the good in every circumstance.

Today’s Peace of Wisdom can be found in choosing JOY.