HAPPINESS: A personal choice.

Everybody has their own skeletons locked up somewhere in a personal closet.

If there was a mandate to count the skulls, you would be astonished at how much everbody is concealing.

That is why when you see that descent Church girl wearing a smile and giving kindness, you should not jump to perfect picture conculsion. There is more to the picture than what is actually portrayed. There is a reason they say “every saint has a past.” She has her own ugly story that she chose to walk away from yesterday, that is why she is happy today.

That strong ambitious woman next door, that has her neck straight and hands on this and that, trying to achieve this and the other, the woman who seems to never rest untill she will get there, the faithful hardworker that overcomes all the odds in her way…yes that one, she also has her moments of weakness. Moments when she has her face buried in her palms on her knees and wondering whether she will ever get there anyway, times when she looks back and waters the wasted time of her life with tear drops, she is not a complete package of “ambition”. She has a past that drags her down at certain points, a past with many failures and disappointments, and sometimes her past makes her scared of her future.  But she chooses to pursue her future anyways.

There is also that role model father that has faithfully struggled to see all his children
through school. Some have  turned out really good,  some are surviving and others have fallen  out.  But he is still loving and appreciative of them all.  He manages to pull off the admirable father figure from the public and his own children. But hey, he carries his own guilt, things he has done for the sake of his children, he has his own regrets too, what he could have and did not do for some of his children, what he hoped and what his children actually turned out to be. He has his deep heart buried ‘what ifs,’ ‘if onlys,’ and many dirty little secrets.

The seemingly perfect couple in your circle of friends has its dark side too. They smile warmly, hold hands and celebrate love often. But they fight too, they cry as well and want to let go at times. Some hold on and push through the darkness while others just hang in there for all the wrong reasons. Either way, they allow the exterior world, a picture as beautiful as possible.

Harry’s complete family that you so much look up to and sometimes wish you were a part of, has its own cross to bear. They have their own dirty laundry tucked away in gross piles. If for just a day, it was hang in public, you would appreciate your own family by default. Behind the portrayed family love, unity, smiles and care, is a unique pile of unsolved problems. In some cases it could be chronic diseases, spiritual problems, greed, academic failures, or financial strains. Whatever the problem may be, the constant is such families that you think of as better than yours, have their own kind of unhappiness too, they just don’t let their weaknesses surpass their strengths.

At whatever time, place, level or stage life puts you at; it will not feed you with happiness on a silver spoon. It is entirely individual effort to choose whether to feed on joy or sorrow and happiness or unhappiness.