But then again, there are plenty of people in the world with ample justification for feeling that life's dealt them a losing hand.

My husband and I attended a charity event recently. We were seated with another couple at dinner and started chatting. The subject turned to children, as it often does.  This couple has three children and one of their kids, aged 17, has severe disabilities. He has the mental capacity of a toddler, is non-verbal, has limited mobility, cannot speak, dress, or feed himself, and, quite frankly, will never be able to. He's undergone a number of very painful surgeries with the hope that he'll be able to walk someday and he was about to undergo another. 

And you think you have problems.

My husband asked the couple how they and their son were coping with all of this. And both of their faces just lit up.  

They said, "He's such a joy. We are so blessed to have him in our lives."

"Blessed."  Now there's an answer we weren't expecting.

And, honestly, we were blown away. Here's a situation where there isn't much hope for a bright future for their son.  There must be a ton of stress on the entire family, both emotionally and financially.  And, rather than play the victim card and go for pity, which they could clearly receive, they wanted to share with us how very special their child is and what a blessing he is in their lives.

They actually said, "We feel bad for others who haven't had the privilege of knowing a special child like our son."

The "privilege."

No lamenting their misfortune.  No talk of what a burden it was.  No indictment of God for displaying callous indifference.

They didn't see his condition and their situation as a negative at all.  Such is a parent's love, but there's more to it than that.  They look at their world and see the good.  They choose to focus on the good.

I know we've touched on this theme before, but we have so many new readers and it strikes me as very timely as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday.  The message for me is simple and it seems to be one I need to re-learn from time to time.  We can choose to be sad, cranky, hopeless, or depressed when something "bad" happens or we can choose to focus on the good ... to be happy and count the blessings in our lives.

You want to know the truth?  You can be happy regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in.  The key to being happy is choosing to be.

And once you choose to be happy often enough ... today, and the next day, and the next day ... something shifts, because what you focus on expands.  Dwelling in despair breeds more despair.  Appreciating what you have and being happy with it breeds more happiness.  So, simply choose to be happy.

I've chosen to be happy today.  It's a choice I intend to make every day.

How about you?

Warmest regards,

Barbara