Day 184: Happiness

Yesterday Sue had an insightful post into finding joy and happiness in our lives. Her point was well taken...sometimes feeling joy isn’t an automatic thing. It often has to be desired and worked for.

Well, today I decided to try and find all the things in my life that brought me joy. Here is my list:

1) A 5AM wake-up call to talk with my favorite people--Sue, Abbie, Ellie, Eden and Ammon.
2) Complaining about it being too HOT...last week it was freezing. Pretty nice weather for the end of November.
3) Eating 1000 calories worth of chocolate chip cookies at lunch (yes, I added them up) and being able to run the 6 miles tonight needed to work them off. I think the cookies made me happier than the running!
4) Having the Afghans laugh at my attempts to speak their language...and being able to laugh at myself at the same time.
5) Leaving Camp Stone and going back to my private room, wireless internet, and cable TV for a few days.
6) Getting to talk with Sue and the kids one more time before going to bed.

Life is full of ups and downs. I have learned from this deployment that you have to try and look for the positives or else the negatives will just drag you down. Sometimes it isn’t enough to just wait for happiness to run up and find you, but rather, you often have to chase after it. Happiness has to be desired and then sought after.

Interestingly, as I was reading my scriptures this morning I ran into a few verses that talk about this topic. Alma 41:4-5 explains that after this life we will be restored to a state based on the works done in this life. We can either be raised to a state of “endless happiness” or “endless misery”. Alma goes on to explain that those who are “raised to happiness” are done so according to their “desires of happiness.” It isn’t necessarily that we are raised to a level of happiness equal to that which we achieved in this life, but rather, equal to that which we DESIRED in this life. Bad things will happen. Hardships will come to each of us. Sometimes life isn’t always fair. However, if we are constantly seeking for that which is good and that which will bring happiness, we will find it in this life and the one to come.

Thanks for the reminder Sue. I love you. Here you can see my greatest source of happiness--I miss you guys.