Happiness. It's Your Choice

This afternoon I spent two hours at Sojourn Coffee talking with a salesman.  No, I was not tied to my chair or restrained in anyway.  I did, however, feel that it was time well spent.  We talked about the business we had come to discuss but also began talking about happiness.  He was certainly not like any other salesman I have come across.

Have you ever really asked yourself if you were happy?  Did you give yourself an honest answer.  I mean, did you really think about it?  We talked about being happy at our jobs or with family.  He broke it down to its simplest elements and made a lot of sense.  Life is all about choices.  We can choose to take someone's words in a positive way or in a negative way.  If someone cuts us off in traffic, we can yell at them and call them names.  We really don't know what is going in in the other person's life that would cause him to do that.  So, again we make the choice in how we react.

He talked about people going down certain roads in life.  This is your choice.  I think many people know they are not happy and on the wrong road.  You have a choice.  You can continue down that road and remain unhappy or you can do something about it.  Happiness will not come overnight but at least you can start on the right road to eventually get there.

One of our choices in life is how we interact with others.  I went to Publix and really noticed when people smiled and said, "excuse me", etc.  Even the bagger who was standing at the carts was genuinely pleasant to me.  I took notice of it all.  What about a smile?  The salesman said, "when you smile at someone you never know how that might change their day."  I could tell this was a happy man.

I could be happier if I made better choices.  It is a conscious effort and bad habits are not easy to break.  It reminds me of a scene out of the Red Green Show when the lodge brothers chant, "I am a man.  I can change, if I have to.  I guess."

A happy person smiles.  Have you been smiling lately?  It's your choice.  You can be the happy person you want to be.  It might just start with a smile.

Michael Kaynard is a local photographer who lives in West Ashley.  His photos can be seen at http://kaynardphotography.webs.com.  He can be contacted at mkaynard@gmail.com.  Your comments are appreciated.