Unusual Channel
By Renette Uy

Happiness is YOU

A few weeks ago, a friend asked, “What makes you happy?” I thought it would be an easy question to answer. When I was about to say something not really thinking about my answer, I suddenly stopped in mid sentence and ask myself again, “what is it really that makes me a happy person?” This time, I could not just say anything. I had to think for a minute there before I finally said, “simple things make me happy now.” A smile from my six-month old baby makes me happy every time I see him with his cute little eyes and his cute little hands and feet. My four-year old child's mischief makes my eyes roll in disbelief but somehow finds the mischief amusing enough to make my day. When my husband being the sweet person that he is, cooks up something delicious and ask if it taste good or what, that makes me smile. These simple things make my simple life now happy so to speak.

Having my friends around me over a cup of coffee, a bottle of beer or a glass of wine and exchanging views about almost anything under the sun makes me smile and happy. Laughing my heart out every time someone cracks a joke makes me happy too. Nevertheless, what is the true meaning of happiness? Is it something of the world that really makes us happy? Is being with the people we love speaks of the happiness we want out of this life? Maybe, maybe not! Happiness is defined as a feeling of joy, contentment, bliss, satisfaction, pleasure and ecstasy. Different words with the same meaning, HAPPINESS! It is such a broad expression of one's feeling but is it also something lasting? Is the feeling short-lived that we only feel it at a certain time of day or when the people we love and care for satisfy our need to be happy?

A prayer said everyday in my simple life now gives me a happy thought that I will be able to survive the day, a week, a month and before I know it, a year has passed. True, we try to achieve or do things to make us all happy but happiness cannot be measured by the things we do, the people we love and love us back I know that now. It is more, more than we know we should do and should give. By the way, this friend who asked me “what makes me happy?” he told me that there is only one way to achieve this great feeling…know GOD and love HIM because true happiness is not here on earth. Profound, huh? Here's more…it is only when we die in the grace of God that we can really say we are happy. Until then, since it is the unknown yet, we live our life here on earth loving and caring for every human being we know and we don't know for it is the only stairway to heaven. How we do that depends on us and us alone. Happiness is YOU, me and everybody else who wants it. We can stay happy until then in our own way.

A friend sent me this email for laughs though you may check it out ‘because you may learn something from it.

Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

•  There is a very fine line between a hobby and mental illness

•  People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

•  You should not confuse your career with your life.

•  Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

•  Never lick a steak knife.

•  Men are like a fine wine. They start out as grapes, and it is up to women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

•  The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

•  You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight saving time before

•  There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.

•  The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.

•  Your friends love you anyway.

•  Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

There are things in our life that must have been complicated at some point and that did not make us happy. But what the heck, life is too short to complicate it and not live it to the fullest as the cliché goes. Live a lot, laugh a lot and love a lot! And when in doubt…turn to GOD!

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”