Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;

My eye is wasted away from grief, and my soul and body also. Psalm 31:9

“Let's face it there is a segment amount of people in this world whose happiness depends on how other people make them feel, and what material thing or trend is trending. Buying a home, or car, starting a business, losing weight, being in a relationship, having a child, or getting a pet.”

Having these things is great, Should I be so lucky to have acquired some of these things one day? “Do I need to have all these things before I am happy?” No!

Being happy before acquiring material things or the attention of another human being consistently should not have to take place or be in place for you/me to be happy.

“What if you have achieved some of or all of these things and for some unforeseen reason you lose all these things, does your happiness go away also?” Way before these things came into your life, my life we should be happy. So what if I weigh 10, or 20 pounds more than I should? Should I start an unhappy campaign? I still look good! That makes me very happy! Happiness starts with the self, that inner being!

I haven’t received my Lexus sports car with no car payment yet! The car I do have right now is in great condition and runs just fine with no car payment. “The way I look at it, I’m driving so I’m good. I’m happy!”

As long as I can remember I have been responsible for my happiness. From being a child living in that group home to my twenties and thirties living by myself, it was just me my plants, and the cat.

“Not having will teach you to appreciate what you do have. You know, the things a lot of us take for granted like peace of mind, good health, family, and God.

I ask myself, What about those people who just wallow in being unhappy? Do these people manufacture their unhappiness? Do they wake up in the morning and make a conscious decision to be unhappy even before their feet hit the floor? I only asked the question because we are blessed with the power of choice. We can choose to be happy or unhappy, I choose to be happy.

In the book Positive Thinking By Norman Vincent Peale. The author suggested that we manufacture our unhappiness, not saying all happiness is self-created. Yet it is a fact that to a large extent by our thoughts and attitudes, we distill out of the ingredients of life either happiness or unhappiness.

As a society why are we so unhappy?

I have seen people dressed to the nines, driving around in nice cars, having great careers, and even having social standing in the community, and they still wear unhappiness like a badge. They can find something to be unhappy about. They make the conscious decision to choose to be unhappy, it is their choice.

When you are all about yourself, having that what about me state of mind and never thinking of others is a sure way to stay in a state of unhappiness.

Acting like you don’t need God in your daily life is a sure sign of unhappiness. God is love and He loves us even when we don’t even deserve it, what part of that should cause you unhappiness of any kind?

The thoughts we think play a huge part in our unhappiness/happiness. Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart is like good medicine, but a crushed spirit drys up the bones. Unhappiness causes discomfort in our bodies it causes us to have diseases and sickness. An unforgiving heart will make you sick and unhappy.

So if you are lucky enough to wake up tomorrow and your plans for the day are to manufacture some unhappiness. Before you do remember this.

Happiness is a state of mind, a choice, and a way of living. It is not something to be achieved, it is something to be experienced.