Quote about happiness

“The U.S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself.” - Benjamin Franklin 

 I saw this quote on Beliefnet, and I really liked it. While there is always the chance at happiness, you have to make it happen. Sometimes happiness is a blessing simply given to you, like being born into a loving family. But as you get older, you realize that you have to make your own happiness as an adult; it doesn't just show up as easily as it did when you were a kid. I think some people do wait for happiness to just arrive on their doorsteps, and when it doesn't happen, they get depressed or frustrated or angry or any other negative feeling. But if you work at finding happiness, like exploring new hobbies you enjoy or making new friends or landing a great job, it will come.

It definitely took me a long time to realize this, and I think it's because I've been very blessed my whole life. I was always happy growing up (except maybe the year I switched schools, but that's such a blur now anyway). I have a wonderful family, we never want for anything, I was smart (and eventually pretty), I had so many opportunities that other's do not...There was never really a reason to be unhappy. I think the year I graduated from college is really the only time I have been truly unhappy, the darkest point I've ever reached. It was then that I thought, "Oh...This is what depression is." I had friends whose parents had gotten divorced, or who had eating disorders, or other very sad circumstances, and I never really understood how they felt until I myself felt that emptiness. It felt like a void; my happy spirit had gone, and I certainly wondered if I would ever get it back.

I did. I've done a 180 since that point in my life, and I promise, I will NEVER take my happiness for granted again. It's sometimes hard to be thankful for something you've always had, but once you lose it, and if you're lucky enough to get it back, you'll be so grateful for it, and work hard to pursue more of it, and keep it.