All Blog Postings by Mary
Happiness Isn’t an Accident
Archive notice: This is a historical post from Mary’s years of blogging. Some older posts may mention products, courses or shop items that are no longer available, as Mary now focuses her time and energy on supporting widows inside her private Facebook community. The guidance and stories remain here as a free resource for widows.
For current ways to connect with Mary’s work, you can:
- Read her book on Amazon .
- Request to join her private Facebook group for widows .
When you are grieving happiness seems like a thing from your past that you will never see again. But happiness isn’t an accident that you have no control over, it’s something you decide to have in your life. Sadly unhappiness is all too easy to have because it comes from inside. On the other side of this, because it does come from the inside, it is something you can design for the present and for the future.
Happiness is the art of getting joy from the present even when there isn’t much to be joyful about. Not looking into the past or waiting for some distance future for happiness.
Is it easy? No. Is it possible? Yes.
One tip is to develop a childlike fascination with what is going on around you and the people in your life. Let others lead small lives, argue over small things, cry over small hurts, letting others drive their life; but don’t you follow that path.
Some widows don’t do well simply because they don’t feel mentally and physically well. Start by taking steps to get physically healthy so you can mentally strive for happiness. Your body is the support system for your mind and spirit. If you take good care of it, paying attention to what it needs you will find that happiness isn’t an accident and you will find what you seek out.
If we aren’t careful our grief will cause us to spend our future looking in the wrong places for happiness. We widows keep searching in the same spot for what is familiar to us, but it may be time to stretch ourselves out of our comfort zone.
No matter how difficult things seem, we always have choices. The death of our loved one does not define our choices or rob us of being all that we can be. Yes, it takes hope, faith and courage to be open to a new happiness and to see the options that are still available to us.
It’s a challenge, takes effort and self-discipline to be open because happiness isn’t an accident. But, widows know this, we always have the power to choose how we live.