My three children are all grownup. They’re still single and career-busy so I’m not really 100% present in their lives anymore.
I just got my second house in northern Cebu …far from the hustle and bustle of Cebu City where I spent most of my grownup life. Here, it is serene and quiet.
One month after I moved in, I was robbed! But praise God, in just two weeks, the robber was caught and I got back some of my valuables.
I have these two labradors whom I treat like my own kids. Most of the time, the three of us create the noise in the house.
I have this home-based job that keeps me from socializing.
I am not very rich but I am blessed with God’s favors.
Our youngest brother is in critical physical condition and my mother is very sick and grappling with what we think is early-stage Alzheimer’s. We have to continually pool our resources for her medication and various medical tests.
My son just brought home a guitar that makes me want to try to play again. Today, I’m like a child with a new toy.
In the last six months, I have been shattered by the death of a cousin Odette Pasilan-Pason, two aunties – Rose Osorio-Medina and Matilde Osorio-Belcina and just recently a good friend and “kumpare”, Pete Tuason.
Write this weekly column is a cathartic experience for me. I feel fulfilled when readers tell me they are blessed and inspired by what I write.
I can go on and on to describe my present life but I can sum it up in one word: HAPPY.
Huh? Even with the tragic events and financial challenges? Sure! How?
It starts with declaring, proclaiming and claiming that you’re happy.
I can relate to what Marc Chernoff wrote in his website www.marcandangel.com on the 7 things that happy people say. I have done them. Let me share with you 3 of them that I often tell myself.
1. “Today is going to be a great day.” – SMILE, you’re alive. Your life is for smiling, imagining, learning, hugging, sharing, caring and healing. Choose to do these things and be inspired.
2. “I’m OK. I’ll give it another try.” – Crap sometimes happens but the way you deal with it will shape your character. Don’t hide from it. Move on. Forget failure or face your frustrations then try again to make things work. Hold your head up high. At least keep on trying rather than just giving up.
3. “Thank you.” – Gratitude leads to greatness. Acknowledge the good things you already have in your life because whatever you appreciate and give thanks for will grow stronger in your life. The greatest way to make your blessings count is to count your blessings.
I like what Chernoff wrote : “Happiness will never be something you hold at the end, but something you DO to get there…Once you find yourself in this state of happiness, it means you have found the right rhythm. Don’t stop. Maintain your efforts. Enjoy yourself. Keep journeying onward and upward.”
Charles Swindoll says, “Getting angry doesn’t solve anything. Neither does complaining. Life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it.”
So choose to be happy. Know that God is on your side as long as your heart is with Him. Whatever negative situation we’re in, God’s grace will always be there and it is sufficient reason to be happy.
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. “ (1 Cor 15:10)
Let’s always have the right words within us to make every day a happy one. After saying it, truly believe that you have God’s peace and joy. The Bible said it in Philippians 4:4 : “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”
Say that it’s going to be a great day. Say that you’re going to be OK. So, say, “Thank you God!”
Then be happy. Know what it does to you, what it means to you. You just have to tell yourself. There’s not much time to waste. Happiness is a truth and it will make you free.
So be it.