Choice of Happiness

Years ago, I met a friend who felt that perhaps some people were not destined to be happy in life.

Now, two years since that conversation, I would say:

I believe that happiness is a choice we make. Even the luckiest person can be unhappy if he takes his luck for granted, while the unluckiest can be happy appreciating whatever little he has. Nobody is doomed to be unhappy. Nobody is destined to be happy either. It is a choice afterall. It is the way of life we pick for ourselves.

I find that a lot of people are "snobs", thinking only big things and events deserve feelings of happiness. They can never understand why people like me feel happy about little things. They may find us silly, simple, unsophisticated - but what is so sophisticated about being unhappy and uninspired all the time?  

I am not encouraging anyone to pursue a blissfully happy life every second, because life is bound to have ups and downs, and is never perfect.  Can we at least try hard - really hard - to seek out the positive side of everything?  Can we try not to dismiss the value or importance of something too quickly? 


It took me many years to get to this stage where I could, and actually did, say something like:  You know, despite all that crap, he really was amazing.  And I sincerely meant it.  


I no longer believe, liked I used to when I was younger, that everything in life is black or white.  Apart from different shades of grey, I realized that black and white can co-exist.  Things don't have to be all perfect to be great.