16 choices made by happy people (II)

written by Aida Călin

9. I choose SELF-GIVING instead of EGOISM. Happy people do what they do not for themselves, but for the sake of others, making sure that they bring meaning, force and happiness in the lives of many people. They are looking for ways of giving and sharing with the others what they have best in themselves and ways to make the others happy. Egoism limits and contracts the energies, that is why egoists are never happy, they feel alone and unlucky. But each of us makes his own luck, stepping out of the loneliness of his/her own ego through love and self-giving. Buddha said: “before giving, the mind of the one who gives is happy; while he gives, the mind of the one who gives finds peace; and after he has given, the mind of the one who gives is in ecstasy”.

10. I choose ATTENTION instead of INDIFFERENCE. Happy people pay attention to the ones around them and to their needs. This attention to what is around them brings them a presence of consciousness in the present moment and awakens their soul. Indifference stiffens the soul and attracts sadness and pessimism. Happy people always notice the beautiful moments of life and cherish them, no matter how small they are, even if for others they seem insignificant and unimportant.

11. I choose HOPE instead of PRAGMATISM. For happy people being realistic means missing the brightness and beauty of life. Seeing beyond what is visible, allowing yourself to dream and hope are aspects that open the heart and attract the joy of life and happiness. The so-called realistic people lose sight of the light beyond things, that although you cannot see it, brings value to everything that you can see. Happy people love and have the courage to have great dreams, always listen to their soul and intuition and hope that everything that is beneficial is also divinely integrated. Goethe gives us the following piece of advice: “Do not nourish small dreams because they do not have the power to move the souls of people”.

12. I choose GRATEFULNESS instead of UNGRATEFULNESS. Happy people are always contented with what they have and are grateful for their life. They know to thank always for every small joy and every little success. Each challenge, lack of success or failure is for them just a step towards the final success. Happy people see the beauty there where most people would see ugliness, see opportunities there where most people would see just struggles, abundance where most of the others would see only shortage and express gratefulness for all these.

13. I choose RESPONSIBILITY instead of IRRESPONSIBILITY. Happy people feel responsible for what they do. They do not blame others when they make a mistake and do not avoid life responsibilities. Years ago I was afraid to make mistakes and that is why I did not assume more important responsibilities. In time I have learned that to err is human and that only by erring you can truly learn. Now I seek to assume the tasks of life seriously, to do everything the best way I can and to finalize everything I have started. And this makes me happy. Even if people are responsible, happy people are not frowning and rigid, but are capable to become aware of the roles they were given and perform them with success and joy.

14. I choose OPTIMISM instead of PESSIMISM. Whatever might happen to them, happy people always maintain their positive perspective on events because they have in their soul a great faith and love for the universal order. Even if negativist people and “realistic” ones feel disturbed by their optimism, happy people always keep a smile on their lips. This is how I do it. When I am confronted with a difficult problem, I stop for a few minutes and I seek to focus rather on its positive aspects than on the negative ones. It is better to see always the full side of the glass, no matter what happens to you.

15. I choose GENEROSITY instead of AVARICE. Happy people do not live in order to accumulate, but accumulate only as much as it is necessary to live a decent life. Giving to others from their abundance or from their poverty is quality that only happy people can afford. Garabet Ibrălileanu said that “generosity is the virtue of the strong ones” and Jacques-Benigne Bossuet said that “only great souls know the grandeur of generosity”.

16. I choose TRUTH instead of LIES. Platon said: “false words not only are evil, but they also infect the soul with evilness”. Happy people know that lies impoverish the soul and bring with them separation, and on the other side, truth unifies and liberates. Talking about truth, Osho said that “it is made of one single cosmic energy. Truth is made of uniqueness, reality is made of multitude. Reality is a mass, truth – completion”.

 

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