Creating Our Own Happiness

I believe we have the power to create our own happiness.
 I believe the real magic in the world is done by humans.
I believe normal life is extraordinary.

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I was sitting in my car at a stoplight intersection listening to the radio. I was, I guess, lost in the moment, thinking how happy I was to be inside my nice warm car. It was cold and windy outside, and I thought, "Life is good."

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Now, this was a long light. As I waited, I noticed two people huddled together at the bus stop. To my eyes, they looked uncomfortable; they looked cold and they looked poor.

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Their coats looked like they came from a thrift store.

The couple seemed to be doing their best to keep warm. They were huddled together, and I thought to myself, "Oh, those poor people in that punishing wind."

*

But then I saw their faces. Yes, they were huddling, but they were also laughing. They looked to be sharing a good joke, and suddenly, instead of pitying them, I envied them. I thought, "Huh, what's so funny?"

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They didn't notice the wind. They weren't worried about their clothes. They weren't looking at my car thinking, "I wish I had that."

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You know when a single moment feels like an hour? Well, in that moment, I realized I had assumed this couple needed my pity, but they didn't.

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I assumed things were all bad for them, but they weren't. And I understood we all have the power to make moments of happiness happen.

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I believe this is something all of us can do: Try to be happy within the context of the life we are actually living. Happiness is not a situation to be longed for or a convergence of lucky happenstance. Through the power of our own minds, we can help ourselves.

This I believe