My letter to Santa

Life gets in the way of things we want to do.  But having people in my life to "get in the way" is a blessing.  I love...  and I am loved.  That love can result joy and that love can result in pain but love is always a blessing.  Those that love me understand and reach out to me when my life gets in their way.  Regardless of what had been thrown at me in the last several months, I still have everything I need to be happy.

It bears saying AGAIN:

A person really needs only 3 things to be happy... 
  Something to love (includes the balls of fur in our lives)
  Something to do, and
  Something to look forward to.

So I evaluate what is in my life and I realize how blessed I am to have all three!!  So I should be happy, right? 

If we have all three things and are still unhappy, it may be because we are choosing to be unhappy.  Happiness is not related to material things or money.  Look into the faces of those you love and those that love you.  What more do you really need?



Dear Santa,
  There is nothing to bring me this year. I have everything I need.
               Love,
                me

Santa looks shocked, but pleased.


We think we need a new phone to be happy.  We think we need another designer bag to be happy.  Do we?  Did you think the same thing before you bought the LAST phone or bag?  Do we confuse NEEDS with WANTS and base our happiness on a WANT?

What is a need?  Karen McCall says “A need sustains you and a want entertains you.”   I agree with Karen. 

We are a fickle bunch of humans.  What entertains us today is in the back of the closet tomorrow.  And there is nothing wrong with WANTING. 

Maybe we need to understand the difference between want and need and realize, in the long run, that NEITHER result in actual and real happiness.  I think we can get so focused on a want that has been disguised in our brains as a need, that we push aside or miss out on the blessings we already have.

There will always be "things" that sadden us but that that isn't really a choice.  Sadness is a reaction to an event.  Sadness is also a temporary state.  Sadness may last a day, a week, a year, or even the rest of our lives but sadness does not eliminate our ability to be happy.  Sadness is in our heart.  Happiness is in our head because happiness IS A CHOICE.

I have the honor to know a few that ALWAYS seem to be happy.  I have spent a lot of time thinking about happiness and, other than the three things noted above, I still believe happiness is a choice.  A choice we must make every single day.  A choice each and every one of us must make every single minute of the day.  Some make the choice look easier than others - they know the secret. 

And I think I know the secret. too: 

Choose to be happy

every minute of every day.  

I finally know what I want to be when I grow up:  HAPPY
And its time for me to grow up.