There is no doubt that life is full of a lot of angst and difficulties.  Who said it would ever be easy?  Problems come in all forms: love, health, money, friendships and so on.  Every one of us has had some issue at some point in life.  Sure, some people have faced far more hardships than others, but we have all had a taste of the bad times in life.  Right?  The real issue here is not what happens to us, but how we deal with it.  You’ve heard this a thousand times and then some, I’m sure.

I went to the memorial service of a very special person who had an illness for a number of years.  She was far from old, so her passing was far too soon.  I had known her for a few years, not particularly well, but enough to get a glimpse of the beautiful soul she truly was.  This glimpse, which she so graciously gave me in the several conversations we had during the time I knew her, widened to an enormous window between the night of her passing and her memorial service.  The absolute joy she contributed to the world was second to none.  I don’t think that I have ever heard so many people consistently saying how much light and happiness she gave to everyone around her and how much she loved life and lived life with pure joy.  Happiness and Joy – shouldn’t we live our lives this way?  Shouldn’t we simply choose to live our lives this way?  She did.  So should the rest of us.