HAPPINESS

I was studying for my Book of Mormon test last week, when I came across this quote in one of my other readings.

I am a survivor of childhood physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. I no longer view myself as a victim. The change has come from inside me--my attitude. I do not need to destroy myself with anger and hate. I don't need to entertain thoughts of revenge. My Savior knows what happened. He knows the truth. He can make the judgments and the punishments. He will be just. I will leave it in his hands. I will not be judged for what happened to me, but I will be judged by how I let it affect my life. I am responsible for my actions and what I do with my knowledge. I am not to blame for what happened to me as a child. I cannot change the past. But I can change the future. I have chosen to heal myself and pass on to my children what I have learned. The ripples in my pond will spread through future generations. ["The Journey to Healing," Ensign, September 1997, p. 19]

As the title of my blog infers, I'm a big believer in true Happiness. I believe it's possible to achieve in this life. I believe Happiness is a mindset, and that you can choose to be Happy. I also know there are certain situations that are Happier than others, and there are certain people with whom it's possible to feel entirely new and previously unattainable levels of Happiness. This quote really struck me, though. Most of us don't have anything that drastic in our past, but what if we had her attitude in every situation? Being slow to judge, quick to forgive, and always keeping that Eternal Perspective. It seems that no matter what hardships we face or what our situations are, these are the keys to staying on a level of true Happiness. It was just a good reminder to me I guess.

I also had the thought the other night to write down one thing I'm thankful for every night. If I remember correctly, the General Relief Society or Young Women's Presidency challenged us to do something similar at the beginning of the year. I did for a couple days and then forgot. So I'm starting over.

Speaking of Happiness, here are some things I'm thankful for that have been keeping me Happy as of late:

an almost-like-Arizona-but-not-quite sunset. I can't wait to go home!!!

attending the opera at Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake with a dear fellow opera-appreciator

goofy FHE sisters! this was on Halloween...

Versatile Lion King costumes! We all randomly had the same idea to use them for Halloween and got a cavewoman, an indian, and a cannibal!

Sunrise from the Temple

the Beautiful fluffy white stuff that falls and DOES NOT stick :)

All the colors dusted in sparkly snow

and warm coats!

oh, and choir too, of course. :) Our concert last night was fantastic, and I'm so thankful for all my friends who came! Our directors even brought us back up on stage at the end, passed out music, and we ended with a song we hadn't sung before except as a warm-up that afternoon! Excited for tonight!