“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

– Abraham Lincoln

Your level of happiness is predetermined. The good news is that you are the one who gets to predetermine it. Happiness can mean many different things to many different people, but the one thing about happiness is that it is a choice.

Your choice.

It’s the decision to see opportunity in times of change. It’s the decision to be grateful for what you already have. It’s the decision to see the beauty that already exists within you. It’s the decision to celebrate the wonderfully unique collection of talents, gifts, and abilities that only you possess.

Material things can sometimes make you feel good for a short while, but they will seldom ever make you truly happy. True happiness comes by simply making the choice to be happy and living accordingly.

It’s your choice.

Has anyone ever made your day?

Do you remember how it made you feel?

I had a great experience recently. It made my day. I received a message from someone in response to a comment I made on her blog post. She had eloquently written a piece that resonated with me at a very deep level. Her words prompted me share my honest appreciation for what she had written. Later, she sent me a warm reply which included these words: “you made my day”.

Wow.

I was stunned. I made someone’s day? Me? How did that happen?

I don’t know if I’ve ever made anyone’s day before. If I did, no one ever told me that I did. But the funny thing about being told that you made someone’s day is that, in turn, it makes your day as well. I can still feel the physiological changes that instantly radiated within me. Four little words, a simple expression of thanks and gratitude, made me a better person that day.

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“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.”    

– Lao Tzu 

In the material world, it is often difficult to see simplicity, patience, and compassion as “greatest treasures”. So much of our collective energy is focused on the attainment of possessions, position, and approval, all external by their very nature. All polar opposites of simplicity, patience, and compassion. 

A life where these three internal attributes flourish is an enlightened life. It is a life where the material becomes immaterial, where stressful frustration is displaced by trusting and knowing, and love guides all that you do.

Embrace the transformative power of these three “greatest treasures”.