In 2017 I wrote a poem “Happiness is a Choice.” I’ll share an excerpt from this poem today. My thinking has evolved since then and I’ll include my new perspective on happiness and joy in this writing.
My poem started by asking a question. “Is it true that you can choose too be happy?” But in a sense if we can choose happiness we should be able to choose most emotions we have. Of course this is more of a philosophical question, and the reality is this would be a very difficult thing to do. Most of us have difficulty controlling our emotions, and most of the time they just come out spontaneously.
It is our nature to have a multitude of emotions, and sometimes we experience two or three different emotions simultaneously. If this is true how can we choose to be happy when it appears this emotion is also spontaneous. This raises the question whether we have any influence over our emotions, and maybe we have more than we think.
When I think of love I can visualize or picture someone I love deeply and create spontaneously this emotion. This could be true also with other emotions such as: passion, fear, sadness, and enjoyment. These emotions can also be felt spontaneously.
I asked earlier if we can choose to be happy. In a sense I believe we can. I think that our happiness and joy come from within. Absolute joy is a gift that we receive from a deep love and commitment to our Higher Power. There are so many positive benefits to our physiology and nervous system when we experience a positive emotion.
The Bible puts it this way. “A happy heart is good medicine, and a cheerful mind works healing.” Proverbs 17:22. The truth is we do feel better when we are full of joy. Our bodies release positive hormones such as endorphins that releases positive chemicals that affect our mind and heart. This is healthy for our bodies and adds to a healthy lifestyle.
Staying cheerful and joyful according to scripture can help heal our bodies from disease and sickness. Maybe we do have a choice after all to choose joy over a negative emotion that can hinder good health. You decide, the choice is yours. Until the next time, Godspeed, Carbie out.
The One-Minute Prisoner 