Happiness is …
“Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it.” ~Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
Sometimes we get lazy. We believe that happiness just happens if we’re lucky — or when it’s bestowed upon us. We might think that happiness is a reflection of good fortune that other people have.
In today’s quote, Elizabeth Gilbert suggests that happiness is an active noun. She believes happiness is something all of us can work toward, cultivate, or even “insist” on, and that we don’t have to wait for it to show up in our lives. Where will you look for happiness today? ~CL
Cindy La Ferle
Throughout my career, I've worked as a book production editor, travel magazine editor, features writer, and weekly newspaper columnist. My award-winning lifestyles features and essays have appeared in many national magazines and anthologies, including Newsweek, Reader's Digest, The Christian Science Monitor, Writer's Digest, Victoria, Better Homes & Gardens, Bella Grace, and more. My weekly Sunday "Life Lines" column ran for 14 years in The Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, MI) and won a First Place (Local Columns) award from the Michigan Press Association. My essay collection, Writing Home, includes 93 previously published columns and essays focusing on parenthood and family life.
2 Comments
Sheryl Kraft
Such a great quote. I believe everyone can find happiness, but they just have to know where and when to look for it. It is not a passive thing- it is active, sometimes elusive, sometimes present…always moving.
Cindy La Ferle
Thank you, Sheryl