Happiness is a choice

The wet weather broke for a bit this afternoon and gave us a chance for a long walk.



I could have frame this picture better: the pelicans in the background and the rippling reflection of the boat in the foreground as the wind gently blew over the surface created a beautiful visual that this picture will not show.

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Eddie Jaku, the self-professed “Happiest Man in the World”, died today, aged 101. His simple promise to himself after surviving the Holocaust and having his first child “..to be happy, smile, be polite, helpful, and kind” is the kind of system I aspire to for myself. It’s his reminder that happiness is a choice that I needed to hear again today.

I have seen the very worst in mankind, the horrors of the death camps, the Nazi efforts to exterminate my life, and the lives of all my people. But now I consider myself the happiest man on Earth. Through all my years I have learnt this: life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful … happiness is something we can choose. It is up to you.

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On a day like today, cloudy within and without, watching Jaku’s message again was a simple yet powerful reminder to count my blessings.

I’m grateful that I have people around me that I can talk to about how I feel without judgement. That I have good health. That I have a a choice to be happy despite everything else going on around me.