My Happiness

There is only one person in this world who can make me happy – me! Does this mean that people don’t bring me happiness? They do. I love the gift of happiness that others drop at my doorstep.

No, what I am trying to say is that I am the one who is responsible for my happiness, not somebody else.

Let’s say I rely on somebody else to bring me happiness. Guess what? I am going to be disappointed. Why?

To start, can you imagine going through life knowing that somebody else’s happiness depends on you? That is certainly a responsibility that I don’t want.

Next, people are human. They disappoint us sometimes. The stumble and fall. They are not perfect. Do I want to place my joy in the hands of somebody else and take the control from me? I don’t think so.

There is something liberating knowing that your happiness does not depend on somebody else at all. Allowing yourself to have this privilege means you have control over your life. Somebody disappointing you may hurt a bit, but it won’t devastate or destroy. It won’t take away from your happiness at all. Why? You are not depending on that person for your happiness.

I have learned that when I realize I am the only one responsible for my happiness, I am happier. If I have the choice of being happy or sad, I’d much rather be happy.

Something else happens, though. When I am happy, people quite naturally want to be around me. If I am sad, they want to avoid me.

A case in point is Charly Chiarelli. He was a storyteller at our festival this weekend. His enthusiasm bubbles over. He seems to be a very happy man. The result is everyone, EVERYONE, wants to be around Charly. He is the life of the party. When he is around, you expect something wonderful to happen.

I try to be the same way. Instead of moaning about the way things might be, I try to dream of the way they can be. I try to spend my energy bringing joy to the world. I want to be so happy that people want to come along with me for the ride.

And that doesn’t depend on them. That depends on me. Nobody else, only me.

Yes, you can dance for joy alone. When you do, you will soon find that somebody just might want to join in the dance. And if they don’t, then it’s too bad for them, because your dance will bring them joy, too.