You May Be Happy and Not Know It

You might be happy and don't know it.  That's right.  It is a relevation that came to me the other night, when I was busy going about life, taking care of all my errands.  When I had a moment, I stopped, sat down and it hit me.

I am feeling really good.  It was more than a surprise.

The past two years have been a milestone for me.  I am an empty nester now.  I had never been alone in my life, ever.  My son had shared a home with me 5 years.  He left to take a wonderful job in Florida in 2010.  I was panic stricken.  How would I do it? How would I manage to meet my expenses?  I had always had someone in the house to take care of, and now, that was all changing.

I must admit, it wasn't all that bad.  Actually. I enjoyed the quiet, being able to do what I wan to do for me.  I had never really taken the time to decide what it is that I wanted.  Part of it was painful, because I found one discovers things about yourself that are hard to swallow, and you have more than enough time to take a serious personal inventory.

That being said, I did that and more.

Because after spending the past 14 months on my own, I definitely think I have made some strides.  It has helped me grow in ways I never expected.  I found out that, I could still be happy even though:

  • I was living alone
  • I didn't have a significant other in my life
  • I wasen't secure financially
  • I didn't have my dream job
How could this happen?  I have been told and told again,, that money won't make me happy.  I didn't believe this.  I found it could make things easier, but, make me happy? It couldn't do that.  I have had more than enough of bad relationships.  So, I could cross that off my happiness list.

I am happier now without a significant other, than when I had someone special in my life.  That one was  simple, because I  picked the wrong people.  Our values were not the same, and there was little harmony in those past relationships.

While I don't have the dream job (which I swore would make me happy), I have a job that gets me by without stress.  

That's a big plus. 

I don't go home fanning my ego, and my work is not going to get me on the cover of  Money Magazine.  However, it pays the bills.  

Another big plus.

I am sharing this because I was very excited about these revelations. I spent my entire life thinking that if I had the perfect relationship, the perfect job, money put away for a rainy day, I certainly would be happy.  

I missed the obvious because:

  • I have my health
  • My children are healthy
  • I am meeting my expenses
  • I can sleep comfortably at night
Okay, so my life isn't all that exciting.  Maybe I was addicted to constant stimulation,  now I have to be still and figure out why I needed all that stimulation.  It is still a struggle, but life is not all that bad.

The phone could ring a little bit more, and it wouldn't hurt to have more exciting plans on the weekend.

I can deal with this.

And besides, after all is said and done, I still have a few cards to play.

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