So many of us strive for happiness—that place where we will all be happy for the rest of our lives. This is a myth, of course, because no one can be happy all the time.
But for Carola, it seemed there was no place for happiness in her life. When she was finally diagnosed with a chronic illness after being in pain for a number of years she was happy to find out what was wrong. However, that happiness was fleeting and she was left with the fact that her life would become more circumscribed and she would be living with some amount of pain for the rest of her life. She felt that she would never be able to be happy again.
She had to learn a new routine and find ways to understand her body’s new normal. It was not an easy thing to do and there were many days she found herself unable to get out of bed and verging on depression. But she worked at and worked to find meaning and wonder where she was now—rather than wishing for what she had. It took her living through the grief of the life she used to have and the sadness that she couldn’t do everything she’d always planned to do.
It took her a long time, but she did find a way to experience happiness, because being happy is a feeling, a reaction. When she was able to find the center, the balance of her new way of being, she learned to experience the frustration of her body’s illness while still being able to enjoy a phone call with her best friend or the flowers blooming outside her window.
Happiness is where you find it. When you can find your center, you’ll find it more often and easier.