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I have often said that the reason why people are so unhappy is that
they never seem to be satisfied with what they are and what they
have. They spend too much time wasting time and energy by thinking
about what might have been. They indulge in useless and even
destructive daydreaming. Happy people, whether rich or poor, are
those who can gain satisfaction in what they are and in what they
are doing. The shoeshine boy maybe a whole lot more happier than the
successful businessman who lives in lofty mansion. The farmer who is
constantly struggling with the land in order to eat might not want
to change places with the supervisor of a big office.
It is not what you do that makes you happy or
unhappy. What gives joy or sadness is the attitude that you carry
through life. There are rich men who are miserable because they can
never seem to come to grips with themselves and find peace of heart
in what they are doing. On the other hand, there are much less
“fortunate” persons who seem to exude a joy that is difficult
for more troubled people to understand.
I supposed you could say that it is all in the
mind. It depends on how you look at life and your relation to it.
Happiness is not a place or a circumstance. It
is, rather, a state of mind. You can create your own happiness or
you can refuse to have anything to do with it. It’s really up to
you.
Perhaps the most important thing to do is to
look at yourself realistically. See your potentials and your
limitations. Then, try to live within them. There can only be one
president of the country. In the army, there must be a few generals
and lots of sergeants and privates. Not everyone can be a hotel
manager. Somebody has got to wash the dishes.
Not all men are called to or to specialize or to
become professionals. The genius who rises to great heights in the
arts and sciences is rare. Many are called to be laborers in
factories, fields and streets. But all work is significant because
it is undertaken by that noble creature—man. The great Martin
Luther King Jr. said it well: “All labor that uplifts humanity has
dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking
excellence. If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should
sweep streets.
Even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven
composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets
so well that all the host of heaven and earth will pause to say,
‘Here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.’”
What is most important is to enjoy doing
whatever you set out to do. See meaning in whatever you do, and then
do it with enthusiasm.
The poet Douglas Mallock put it beautifully when
he wrote: “If you can’t be a pine on the top of the hill, be a
shrub in the valley—but be the best little shrub by the side of
the hill, be a bush, if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a
highway, just be a trail; if you can’t be the sun, be a star.”
Indeed in the end, it isn’t by size that you win or fail.
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If you have problems about drugs, alcohol and
behavior/attitude call my office at 8206107 or 8251771 or e-mail me
at gvcbuenca@vasia.com or write me at P.O. Box 2099 MCPO, Makati
City.
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