Choose Happiness Today

Consider these words about attitude from writer and activist Helen Keller:

“If I regarded my life from the point of view of the pessimist, I should be undone. I should seek in vain for the light that does not visit my eyes and the music that does not ring in my ears. I should beg night and day and never be satisfied. I should sit apart in awful solitude, a prey to fear and despair. But since I consider it a duty to myself and to others to be happy, I escape a misery worse than any physical deprivation.”

In these words, Helen Keller provides to us a reminder that ultimately, how we view ourselves, our circumstances, and our lives is our choice.

None of us, regardless of what we do, the family or friends that we have, or our station in life, has a perfect situation at any given time. We all have challenges that we must face.

Admittedly, some of us – including Helen Keller – seem to be handed more difficult challenges to happiness than others.

But whatever our circumstances, the key is to make the choice to find happiness and to avoid despair.

When we do this, as Keller says, we are fulfilling a duty not just to ourselves, but also to those closest to us, as well as to society as a whole.

Because when we find some measure of happiness, that happiness shows and others are drawn to it, sometimes without them fully realizing or understanding it.

 And soon, that sense of joy spreads. Inversely, when we are mired in a sense of gloom and doom, this is what we pass on to those who love us, and to the broader world in which we live.

Do all that you can to choose happiness today. You – and those around you – will be glad you did.