Three years ago on April 1, 2010 (no joke), I posted my first Happy Day Moment on Facebook as a personal challenge to be consciously thankful, to count my blessings, and to live with gratitude. Every day.

I thought it would be easy. A happy moment every day? Sure. I’m a pretty happy person. I’m a glass-half-full kind of gal. A Pollyanna. I can do that.

Here’s the thing: It’s a snap to write a happy moment

when the sun is shining and the sky is blue and the grass is green

when the husband is loving and the children are obedient (and vice versa)

when people you love are healthy and employed

when there’s food in the pantry and flowers in bloom

when the coffee’s hot and there’s chocolate in the house

when there’s money in the bank and in the wallet

when joints don’t ache and the mind is clear

when there’s a car (no matter how old) in the garage and gas in the car

when the power is on and the furnace works and the plumbing flows

when there’s no ice on the roads and no rain on the ballgames …

…it’s easy to celebrate and announce those happy day moments.

Every day you wake up…

that you’re not depressed, that you didn’t gain weight, that you’re not nauseous, that your sinuses aren’t clogged, that you don’t have heartburn, that you’re not cranky, that you get out of bed and rise to face the day …

….is Happy Day Moment material.

And so I posted one happy day moment after another about times observing goodness and kindness, about being with grandchildren and family, about hearing funny stories, about reading inspirational words, about appreciating friends, about loving God.

Easy stuff.

But it’s a whole other ballgame

when there are days of pain. And days and days and days

when there are hurts and disappointments and confusion

when there are sad words and shock and struggles

when there is less and loss and emptiness

when there is fatigue and despair.

Then that “moment” of happy is harder to find. Not so snappy.

When pain and heartache covered me, when tears poured forth, when my rooms were all dark corners, could I push aside my less-than-perfect circumstances and see a Happy Day Moment? One moment? Anywhere? Could I break free from the centrifuge of my gloom?

Yes. Yes. Because I have a choice. Those days when I had to dig through mire and mud and rock to find that hidden gem of a happy moment, I discovered that it isn’t as much about our circumstances as what we do with them. We don’t choose heartache or pain or disappointment. Who in their right mind would? But we can choose forgiveness and compromise and peace. We can choose the green light. We can choose not to be stuck at the red light. We can choose the wonder. The miracle.

Because there is always a moment, no matter how small, no matter how dark the day, that is worthy of being grateful.

Honestly, posting Happy Day Moments has changed my life. Living with gratitude, knowing I had to focus on finding a Happy Day Moment to post has become a remedy for self-pity. I’ve learned that writing gratitude for the seemingly commonplace lets me see that nothing is common, that the small is blessed. I can poo-poo the notion that some days stink from beginning to end. No day is completely stinky.

Every day we have a clean slate and the choice to love in spite of circumstances, to show kindness and compassion, to be intentional with gratitude, to find a happy moment. Sometimes it’s a hard task so we must choose to keep eyes and heart open.  To live with eyes wide open. To be awake.

Gratitude can change your life – it may not change the circumstances, but it will change your response and how you see the world.

To witness miracles unfold, live with gratitude and count your happy day moments.

Onward to year HDM Year Four.

 

[“Like” my Happy Day Moment Facebook page… help me get to 200!]