pursuit of happyness

last night, i've read a few inspiring stories that i thought were too beautiful
and inspiring not to share.

some of you (who have read my posts) might have noticed that most of my past
entries were grounded on life's anxieties and worries. some were even focused
on complaints and (unnecessary) rants.

take for example this post.

but now, after some inspiring stories and posts from one of the most inspiring
preacher i know, i've come to really accept and believe a well-preached
and known fact:

happiness is, and always be, a CHOICE.

no matter what you have or where you are or what you are or whatever life
throws at you, the choice to be happy is totally yours. and under any
circumstance you can be happy if you allow yourself to feel it.

lemme tell you story...
-------
One morning, a woman was sad when she faced the mirror. She discovered
she only had 3 strands of hair on her head. Suddenly, she smiled. “Today,” she
said, “I’ll braid my hair!” And after doing so, she walked out of her home and
had fun, fun, fun.

The next morning, the woman woke up and felt sad as she saw the mirror.
She discovered she only had 2 strands of hair. Suddenly, she smiled. “Today,”
she said, “I’ll part my hair in the middle.” After she did that, she walked out of
her home and had fun, fun, fun.

The next morning, the woman woke up and felt sad as she saw the mirror. She
discovered she only had 1 strand of hair left. Suddenly, she smiled. “Today,”
she said, “I’ll wear my hair in a ponytail.” After she did that, she walked out
of her home and had fun, fun, fun.

The next morning, the woman woke up and felt sad as she saw the mirror.
She discovered she had zero hair left. Suddenly, she smiled. “Yeepee!” she
shouted in glee, “I don’t have to do my hair today!” Immediately, she walked
out of her home and had fun, fun, fun.
-------

see? it is (supposed to be) NEVER about what you have, or what you DON'T
have. it is how you see and perceive and take what is infront of
you. it is (supposed to be) never about having less or wanting more.

from what i've learned, all the good things that might make one happy are just
what we call pleasures. they are there to make you feel good or comfortable,
to make you less stressed or less worried (like wealth, or example). but attaining these
pleasures doesn't necessarily equate happiness. happiness is an inner choice.

having said all that, i would like you to know that my views have changed. a lot.
im not saying that im totally cool with getting stuck in this corner of the earth
for the rest of my life. OF COURSE, i still want to travel. to go places and exprience
things. that didn't change. but what changed is the way i SEE things. the way i
see this wanting. i no longer see this as a crossed-out thing in my to-do-list,
or a dream that will be shift-deleted.

what i see now is a great pleasure that i want to experience. and whether or not
achieving this pleasure will bring me joy and make me happy is all up to ME.

another thing i realized is that, i dont really need to fly to far away places to
achieve this bliss. well, maybe it'll be more fun but that still doesn't ensure me
happiness, does it? i don't really need to go to singapore or rome in a blink of an
eye for me to realize this wanting, right? what i'll do is to just take it one step,
one place, at a time. which brings me to another great lesson,

bite-size your dreams

yup. no matter how big or great your dream or wanting is, sometimes all it takes
for you to fullfill them is by resizing them. bite-size them.
this doesn't mean you have to lower your goals or your dreams, it means attaining
them piece by piece. you can't eat a whole pizza in one take, can you? you
practically have to take them one slice and one bite at a time. of course it will
take longer than what you have wished for but still, the fact that you achieved it
is what matters. and besides, think of the fun, the lessons and the great things
you experienced along the way, wouldn't they be all worth it? =)

so there you go...
just a piece of my mind. my two cents. hehe
and just for the record, ive already found my happiness. life's little pleasures are
no match to this ultimate creature that puts a smile in my heart everyday. hehe
these little pleasures are just there to add more spice and fun to this happyness.
also, i realized we don't have travel the world within 80 days, but instead we'll travel
it for the rest of our lives! :) im talking years guys. think of all the people we'd meet,
places we'd go to, ferrys and flights we'd be in, markets and shops we'd explore,
et cetera. :D

why do we have to fly straight out to the Bahamas if we have yet to see for ourselves
the sugarwhite sand beaches of boracay...or bantayan? RIGHT?

and guess what? we're off to bantayan tomorrow! WHAT UP???! (haha!)
i know you guys have been there N times but so what? it'll be our (mine & ezra's)
first trip to bantayan. hehe :)

remember guys, one step, one place at a time.
oh, and bora might be next. hehe we'll see... :D

Have a blessed holy week guys!!!! =)

ps: btw, i love that movie! hehe

pps: sorry that was long! :D