Is Happiness What You Expect?

Hello Everyone. Happy Easter and Spring Solstice to you.

Today I have a guest writer. George Abney is one of our blog readers and he offers his thoughts here.

George, thank you so much for your thoughts and your willingness to share them with us.

Heather Olson
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Is Happiness What You Expect?

Expect little or nothing and you get... nothing. Expect everything or a lot and you get... it , maybe. An old jewish rube is "betta some than none." Some agree that happiness in any quanity is worth crowing about.

What is it that qualifies happiness?

Qualifications are the proof in the pudding that its really pudding instead of a mudpie. Often, people flail against circumstances that contain requirements at odds with the expectation of happiness.

For example, the romantic girl of any age who compulsively spends every dime on another gothic romance identical to the thousand she has already read but for the names of the characters and the clothing they may wear is happy every time she buys another gothic clone.

Happiness for this logo-lover rests between the covers of a book fully entrenched in a fantasy world that rarely takes the substance of a healthy diet, exercise and rapid therapy at a community mental health clinic. Another example of a distorted expectation of happiness is the lust of a father who dotes on his children as the means of securing yet another sports trophy in the home grove of idols.

This kind of person murders family relationships by using people for personal egoism and he uses love and approval as the hold-out in the emotional hold-up. Beware of the loving individual most willing to make you a sacrifice to their god.

Expectations are important. Reading and writing are also important. Its important to know that rational thinking is a SKILL no one is born with. It takes honesty and a tolerance for humility to engage the self discipline by which one learns constructive reasoning. Lots of dialog with other intelligent people is a start... along with the ability to endure the give and take in the exchange of opposing ideas and viewpoints.

A good argument is one that leaves everyone with something more than what they started with after the papers settle and the physical energy abates. The balance between feeling and thought compels growth in the person who wants to KNOW EXACTLY what to expect of happiness in the contest of life. Its just not the same for everyone and there is a specific reason WHY. Understanding the "Why" can enable a person as a coach of others in their quest for happiness. The Apostle Paul made the

remark that... "I have known both riches and poverty, but in all things I have learned to be content. Godliness with contentment is great gain."

If your life seems a little on the shy side of happiness, perhaps you need to consider the details in your expectations. Adjustments in these metrics can give you the power to move beyond the limitations you face toward a QUALITY lifestyle produced by deliberate choice and specific actions.

I like the radio program "Prairie Home Companion" that hales from Minnesota. The sign off remark of the host is ... "Be well. Do good work. Be happy." Happiness really is a choice.

Don't live life waiting on someone else to give it to you. Go get it for yourself. You are worth it.

George Abney