Today is a big news day, and no one is happy. Prop 8 has been upheld by the California Supreme Court. Sonia Sotomayer has been nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States. Larry Bodine has debased Twitter as a legal marketing tool.

I am reading commentary and Twitter feeds on each, here and here, including the postings by my Facebook friends, and all I can think about is I am pretty damn happy in my life.

Yes, I care about all of these issues. I have opinions on each. I can write a blog post, or a series, on all of these topics. And, yet, I can’t get Jeffrey Gitomer’s column today, On choosing happiness. What’s your choice?, out of my head.

Your life will always be filled with challenges, barriers, and disappointments. It’s best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. Alfred Souza said, “For a long, long time it had seemed to me that I was about to begin real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”

There is no way to happiness.

Happiness is the way.

There is no after to happiness.

Happiness is now.

Here’s the answer: It’s inside your head FIRST and everyplace else second. Happiness is a treasure. Your (missed) opportunity is to treasure every moment
that you have.

And while I take stands on legal, political and social issues every day, I never lose sight that while these issues might impact my life, they do not control how I live my life, how I view my life. Outside issues, whether political, economic or social, do not impact my happiness. That is something I get to own and treasure every day.