#1 Finding True Happiness

I could start by going into my whole life story (all 25 years of it) BUT, I won’t do that to you…that’s for another time, so don’t be bummed yet!! hehe 🙂

Instead, I am going to start my story in a place where I termed the phrase that has become my life’s motto:

“TRUE HAPPINESS”

So what is true happiness? what does it mean?

and how can a two word phrase have such significance and meaning?

Well….let me take you back 5 years ago to the winter of 2016 when I traveled to the small town of Puebla, Mexico, about 3 hours Southeast of Mexico City where I spent 10 days building a house for a family.

This was one of the hardest weeks of my life due to the emotional and physical challenges, but it was equally one of the best!

While this picture shows sunshine and blue skies, this was the only day the weather cooperated for our entire stay. A storm rolled in the following day that brought cold temperatures and damp weather, and being 7,000 ft above sea level, meant we were in the misty clouds 24/7. So, our clothes were soaked and never dried, and sleeping on cement in a building with no running water or a working toilet made things a bit difficult, and very uncomfortable compared to our normal way of living.

Almost everyone got sick, except me and three others (I think my whole being loves Mexico :)), and many might say our living conditions were miserable. BUT… I’ll say it again, it was one of the best weeks of my life, and was an experience that changed my life for the better and jump started my direction from that point on to the life I am living now! YAY!

But, I can’t get too distracted yet, so let me take you back to my motto: True Happiness, and how in the midst of adversity, this phrase rang so true.

The eyes and smiles of the people I interacted with and the love they shared so selflessly in their actions beamed of happiness, joy, love, and the feeling of being contempt, yet these people had nothing in American standards. They had no material goods or even a home to call their own. They had been living with another family, both with multiple kids, in a house that was about the size of a mudroom or a very small bedroom, in a standard American household. Yet…. they were happy.

The children had to walk miles to school, yet…..they were happy. They had no new clothes, jewelry, toys, or money to spend on anything other than food, yet…..they were happy.

These people were truly happy.

When I started to ponder this more, I began to think about being home in America, and what happiness looks like there. I started to realize that many times, and especially in the media, “happiness” looks very different. We demonstrate happiness coming from material goods, financial success, social success of being famous or seen across social media sights, and more. We seem to base happiness solely on material/social things, proclaiming the message that if you buy this nice house, you will be happy, or when you get this great job, then you will be happy, or if you buy your kids all the gifts they want for Christmas, then they will be happy. But, do these things really make someone happy?? Like really, truly happy??

Or….is this happiness short lived? When that new game or piece of jewelry isn’t NEW anymore, or desired the same way, are we still happy? Are we still feeling the same way we did when we first got that gift? Does that gift just go in the pile of the other gifts. Sometimes no, because gifts can have very personal and emotional meanings. But I argue most of the time….yes.

So….what really is true happiness? And what makes it pure, true, and long-lasting?

True happiness, shines brighter to me than any other happiness I have ever seen in the material world.

But How??? and Why??? you might ask?

How can someone who has “nothing” be so happy??

While in the eyes of most of the world they appear to have “nothing”, they truly have everything!!! They have everything they need…

and the difference is, they realize that!!

They have family, faith, friends, food, and shelter. All the necessary things in life.

And they value that!!!

Some say they are that way because they don’t know the difference, they’ve never had the opportunity of a different life.

While that is true, I question if their happiness would change into the happiness we often see around us if they were exposed to the world we live in? And my answer, would be yes, and in that sense, I think they are better off (I’ll explain more later so keep reading!!).

So why am I telling this story?

I think there is an important lesson we can learn from these people, and the simplicity that life is meant to be and have. While I may be taking this idea to an extreme, as these people are surrounded by immense poverty; they hold a secret that many of us in our world are lacking. And I may dare to say, their quality of life emotionally and relationally is better than ours in the United States, and other first world nations. They aren’t caught up in the superficial nonsense that we often are, not always as a fault of our own. It isn’t easy to stay focused on what is truly important in our lives, because the media and our commercial, materialized climate tells us not to.

So…..what can we do?!?

For me, I try to remind myself of the TRUE HAPPINESS is saw, experienced, and now desire, every day, or multiple times a day, so I stay on track. BUT, I am not saying it is easy. I’ll be honest, I often find myself falling into the trends of what’s in style, and feel that I want or need that. And then I remind myself of what is really important, and a new pair of jeans isn’t one of those things, even if they would go sooo well with my cute outfit :p (insert funny emoji).

SO… I challenge you to do the same and strive for TRUE HAPPINESS!!!

A happiness that is made of up family, faith, friends, food, and shelter. Because when you have all those things and enough financials to take care of your family and live modestly, then you truly have it all!!! You have what you NEED!!! Even if you don’t realize it right away.

I believe if we can strive to live more like this, we wouldn’t have as much disfunction in families, spoiled kids, entitlement mentalities, families being separated, and a mentality of “my life isn’t enough….I want more” “or I want what they have”. Instead, we would be contempt and simply happy, and be present and thankful for the things that really matter.

So, as we close in on the Holiday season, let us not get wrapped up in all the gifts (catch the pun?! hehe) and the little things that don’t matter, and instead focus in on family, because

a gift can alway be replaced but family cannot!

Till next time 🙂