My Addiction to Happiness (standard:humor, 893 words)
Author: Godspenman	Added: Apr 04 2026	Views/Reads: 0/0	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
My happiness is not found in the world, but in my personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the most important elements of life is happiness. When I look
around the world, I notice how scarce happiness seems, which makes me 
reflect on its true value. 

I have come to the conclusion that happiness is a choice. I can be happy
or sad. The choice is mine. 

Whenever things aren't going the way I want, and it seems very chaotic
around me, I stop, think a little bit, and actively choose happiness 
over my worrying, which helps me regain perspective. 

Not too long ago, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage looked at me
and said, "Why are you so happy?" 

I looked at her smiling and said, "As long as you're in my life, I will
be happy." 

She looked at me, smiled, and then walked away. I'm not sure if she
understood exactly what I was saying, but I meant it from the bottom of 
my heart. 

I once told her that I had a PhD in happiness. 

"What does that mean?" She asked. 

"A PhD is a 'Perpetual Happiness Demeanor'". And I have earned that
degree. 

Throughout the years, I have had this degree challenged on many levels.
When things seem at their worst, I need to step back, smile, and be 
happy. 

If you watch the news on TV, there are a million reasons not to be
happy. If I believed everything on TV, it would be hard to be happy. 
The purpose of television news is to depress people, and they are very 
successful at it. 

No matter how bad a situation looks, I can be happy. For every bad thing
in the world, I can always find something good to be happy about. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those possibility thinkers who think
all I have to do is think it and I can achieve it. I don't believe that 
at all. But I do believe in happiness in itself. 

The other day The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage was looking very
sad. I approached her and said, "What's wrong? Why are you looking so 
sad?" 

Then she explained to me in detail why she was so sad. Based on what she
said, she has every good reason to be sad. She had both thumbs injured, 
and they were not quite movable, which hindered her from doing some of 
the work she does. 

"I just am tired of my thumbs not working yet." 

It reminded me of a time in my life when I was hit with shingles on my
right side. My right arm was limited in what I could do with it. It 
really may be quite sad. 

One day, I went to Wendy's, and a man came out of the store without a
right arm. From the top of his shoulders down, his arm was missing. 

As I watched him walk to his truck, I got to thinking. That man will
never be able to use his arm because it's gone. I, on the other hand, 
will be able to use my arm again one day because it's just a temporary 
setback. 

So, I told my wife, "Don't get discouraged. That will soon go away and
you will have full access to both of your thumbs." I smiled at her, 
hoping she would catch the happiness bug. 

I don't think happiness comes automatically. It's a matter of choice. In
the midst of some very negative situations, I can either suffer through 
them or choose to be happy. I'm not happy about my situation, but 
happiness is my choice in life. 


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