The True Secret to Happiness

My Dad always said the secret to happiness is a “job well done.” At the time I was thinking “Okay Dad, can I go to the Mall now?” The older I get the more I find these words to be so true and of great value. How happy are we when we get a new pair of shoes? Seriously, we are excited, we wear them and they soon become old shoes. How happy are we when we go on vacation? We plot and plan, go on vacation and soon it is a just a memory and photographs, and then we start counting the days to our next vacation.

Stop and think about how happy and content you feel after cooking dinner, washing the dishes and sitting down to relax while still smelling the aroma of a job well done. Think about how happy you are when you clean the house, or garage. Everything is in its place and you keep going in and looking at a job well done. I was feeling glum the other day. Did I do some Internet shopping? No, I cleaned out Miranda’s toy box and organized some paperwork. I felt so much better after a job well done. It was so simple.

These powerful words my Dad once said have come to fruition for me. I have also learned to enjoy the things in life that cannot be bought with the almighty dollar. I was sitting on the deck earlier looking at the beautiful, bright stars in the sky. I started to try and identify the constellations. While I was doing this I could hear the sound of tree frogs. I had an overpowering feeling of happiness and contentment and it didn’t cost a penny. I was enjoying some of the God given things that are there for the taking.

So, next time you want to do something to make you happy, stop and think about what the true meaning of happiness really is. To heck with the Mall! Clean your closet, wash and vacuum your car.  It might surprise you how good it feels to be a part of a job well done!

Death is Weird

I have so many feeling about death. I find it to be very weird. How can someone be here one minute and then gone the next? I also have seen the miracle of death first hand; when life leaves the body. It is almost as miraculous as when a baby comes into the world. What a miracle and process it is for life to leave your body.

I have lost many people. My brother passed suddenly and my dad and brother-in-law after a long illness. There is no "better" way because the end result is the same. It is final. I often think it is better to know you are dying because you can get your affairs in order and people have a warning. It seems like it would be easier to handle because they and you knew. When somebody dies suddenly you have to deal with things like seeing that they left a bookmark in their book, expecting to read it again. There is no "better way." When my Dad passed after a long illness, I saw his slippers next to his bed and was so saddened thinking he would never wear them again. I stared at them thinking how weird it was that those were his slippers and his feet would never be in them again.

Sitting on the porch this morning I looked at the sun and thought how weird it is that my former Mother-in-law Ida would never see the sun again. How she is gone. Poof! It is so weird. I then reminded myself that she will dwell in eternal glory and never see darkness, only light. She might not see the sun, but she will see The Son. I smiled.

When a loved one dies I always try and make myself feel better by thinking at least their death was not horrific or their last moments were not filled with fear or violence, but I truly believe that no matter how someone passes, they are not scared or hurting anymore.

While I find death to be weird, I have peace in knowing that no matter how someone leaves this world, that not only is it final, but they truly are in a better place and reunited with loved ones. I have always believed that there is a Heaven, but after reading "Heaven is For Real," I KNOW there is a Heaven.

I am so sad that my daughters and ex-husband have lost someone so close to them and I wish I could take their pain from them. I know the edges will get softer over time....they always do. I am sad that my Grandchildren lost a Great Grandmother, but rejoice in how lucky they were to know her.

I will continue to find death to be weird, but I know it is the process of life and our loved ones that pass will never have pain, fear, or worries again. It is our selfishness that wants them to live forever.