Each little moment

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” Dennis Waitley

I have had several conversations lately about unhappy relationships 
People who have a spouse and don’t want them anymore 
And people who don’t have one and are tired of being alone
It’s the proverbial grass is always greener scenario 
Why do we as humans feel so unhappy so often?
Why is contentment so elusive?
It’s easy to blame marketing and all the ads we are bombarded with about what we are lacking
And everyone else’s perfectly shot life on Instagram and Facebook makes it hard to get excited about the fact that it’s a Tuesday and you’re not the one on an island 
But, is being rich and famous the only ticket to happy?
I’ve read too many stories of people who had it all and still found themselves miserable 
Just watch the Netflix series, The Crown if you doubt me
All that wealth and fame and mostly they all are, wretchedly unhappy 
I’m sure I’d be thrilled to roam the halls of a palace with a huge tiara but I digress
My mom used to tell me that, it’s way better to be alone than to be poorly accompanied 
I didn’t get it at all, until I did
It is better to be on your own than with someone that makes you miserable 
But, is that misery going to stay if the other person goes away?
I find that a lot of people don’t realize that wherever they go, there they are
We really are carrying around everything we need
To be happy
Content 
To be loving and kind
Grateful 
It’s all in us, all the time
We had bumper sticker on our car when I was in high school that said, When the going gets tough the tough go shopping 
And, I lived by that for decades 
But eventually, I realized that all that new stuff was just going out the door to Goodwill 
It had no lasting value
Now, I’m interested in experiences 
In deep conversations 
Stories that make me laugh 
Friendships that feel like family
And realizing that each little moment has in it, perfection 
No one can predict a life
It’s failures or successes 
What we can do is be the best versions of ourselves, for ourselves
Holding a space inside us to be filled with grace, gratitude and love
Because that’s something we all need, single or not