Time, Happiness, and for Everything Else, Disney

Something on my mind lately is how most of us think we have more time. More time to live our lives. More time with the ones we love. Sure, a lot of people say they don’t have enough time for this, that, and the other. But I believe deep down, most of us think that we have more time to do all of those things we say we don’t have time for. To which I say, we have time for all of the things we want to have time for. Meaning, we typically are doing the things we want to do. Or spending time with those we actually do want to spend time with. Otherwise, why would be spending time doing what we are doing and who we are doing it with? It’s almost always a choice we’ve made, right?

The bigger question is whether or not we are choosing to be happy with what we are doing and who we are with. And whether we are doing what helps us choose happiness. In the good old U S of A at least, we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. “They” say that happiness is a choice. I believe that. I also believe that I can find happiness in just about anything. In my life, I’ve experienced so many things that tried to take away my happiness. So many in fact that, if I were to tell you everything that has actually happened to me, you’d wonder why I even try to choose happiness anymore. It would be so much easier to choose bitterness, resentment, and anger; which I have chosen many, many times.

So, why is it that I decide to choose happiness, you might ask? The answer is simple. I don’t want to waste any more time being bitter, angry, or resentful…LOL The reality is that I don’t have much time. Even if I were to live into my late eighties, 80-something years really isn’t a long time. Looking for those moments of happiness in my life has actually given me much more time than I would have otherwise. Living an intentional life these past few years has actually caused me to slow down, appreciate what I’m doing, appreciate who I am with, and given me clarity of purpose.

When I look for what makes me happy, I’m not ignoring all of the bad stuff. I’m actually just reframing and redirecting it. Sometimes, I even file away the bad stuff as a reminder to learn the lessons I need to be learning from life. I no longer think, “well, at least it didn’t kill me” or “I know everything is going to be okay.” Sure, I’ve thought those things before. And even said them to others for what they were going through. But in a way, that produced a toxic positivity that isn’t healthy. Now, it’s more like, “well, I survived this time and hope to do better next time” or “not everything is okay right now, and that’s okay.”

Choosing to be happy even in the worst of times just helps me navigate things. Those who know me well know that my source of happiness is God. That is very true. Trusting God with my happiness isn’t me just waving my hands in the air and going through life without a care. I’m simply acknowledging that He is my True Source of Happiness. What I do with that is take actions in my life that reflect His Goodness for my life. The way I treat people matters. The way I show up for work and do what I’m asked to do matters. Doing what I say I’ll do matters. How I live out the time I’m given by God truly matters. Being an active participant in my life makes my heart happy and helps me choose happiness.

This is an ongoing process for me. Most of what I’m saying is rhetorical nonsense…LOL Okay, not really. Some of it makes a little sense. At least to me. I still get sad, frustrated, and disappointed with things in my life. Happiness isn’t something I feel all of the time. This past Winter reminded me that, truly, not everything is okay. And yep, that’s okay. I’ll be happy with what I can be happy about. For everything else, there’s Disney…LOL

Thank you for attending my GREGTalk…LOL Be sure to check out my latest book on the merch table in the back…HAHAHA j/k