"If only"

If we only wanted to be happy, it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, and that is almost always difficult, since we think them happier than they are. ~ Charles de Montesquieu

People aren’t as happy as you think they are. We presume that life will be better “if only.” “If only” never arrives. Happiness is not created when some magical thing happens. Happiness is created in this moment.

There are certainly times when happiness eludes, when the stresses of the day supersede the little joys. Those are the times when you have to be more diligent about looking for what’s right. The times when most of your life and work is a stress are the times you must take extra care to enjoy the small things.

Finding a split second of peace and happiness in the small things – the birds singing when you wake up, the sunset, the rain gently falling, the smile from a stranger, the fact that you finished this piece of paperwork 6 minutes earlier than you anticipated – is critical. Sometimes the split second of joy is all you get.