In Pursuit of Happiness

By Laila Muhammad | Last updated: Mar 12, 2014 - 9:05:18 AM

“Happiness must be cultivated. It is like character. It is not a thing to be safely let alone for a moment, or it will run to weeds.” ~Elizabeth Stuart Phelps

“Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain ... To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices—today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it.” ~ Kevyn Aucoin

I have been hearing stories of women lately who just can’t shake the baby blues, girls who withdraw from the world to the deepest recesses of their minds, our sisters who seem to have so much but never seem to be happy. These women always seem to be in a stupor and just being around them for a few minutes brings your spirit down. Not knowing what to do, you rub their backs, send out encouraging words, and tell them it’s going to be okay. But nothing seems to work, I’m convinced some of the problem is a simple lack of gratitude.

Your life is what you make it. You have to take charge of it; no one will do it for you. You have to get up every day and determine that you will be happy. Give yourself positive affirmations on your beauty, your intelligence, your worth and your value, and believe these affirmations.

All one has to do is observe the lifestyles of those people who are generally considered happy, whose tone scale is pretty high. These are the ones who don’t get stressed out over little things, who understand that they can only change the things in their power. They understand the laws of attraction, that whatever you send out into the universe, the universe works to make it happen. Hence the saying, “Be! And it is.”

Jesus was a prime example of this: He called himself the Rose of Sharon, the Lilly of the Valley, and the Prince of Peace. Don’t you, as a woman, want to be able to harness power like that? Wouldn’t you like to speak positive things into existence? Ask yourself, how can I draw happiness unto myself? How can I be an attracting force to good, happy, productive and positive people?

It’s quite simple, it’s already in you. Epictetus, the Greek sage and philosopher, said “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” The mind and body have the power to self-heal this amalgam of connected electricity, sound waves, and nerves to help you maintain your optimum being and health. Your mind submits to the commands you give. If you want to be healthier, first envision what optimum health looks like, write down your goal to reach optimum health, plan your work and work your plan, step by step, degree by degree, and see how the god within and the God without will work to make it happen.

But as you work on your physical self, don’t neglect your spiritual health. Submit to the way and will of the Lord of the Worlds and you will find yourself more at ease, more secure, more at peace. When you are in obedience to God and his Christ, you won’t have to tell people you are blessed and highly favored, they will see it in your face. They will hear it in your speech. They will see the glow in your skin, the brightness of your eyes, your aura, your entire being will attract people who will help you, support you and encourage you in all your endeavors. All things work for good for those who serve the Lord.

Don’t buy into the hype or speak negative words or thoughts into existence. Start today, right now, to bring into fruition a happy life, a sense of self-worth, well-being, by submitting your life to God … fully and completely. After all, you’ve tried it your way for far too long, and it hasn’t worked out. You are still in the same condition, so try God’s way. We all fall short of his glory, but he is so merciful that no matter how bad you think your life is, nor how much you have sinned, he is the oft-returning to mercy, the forgiving.

May Allah (God) bless us to be steadfast, to always be appreciative, and to show gratitude for the life God has given us, and may we pay him back by being grateful and obedient to his will.

(Laila Muhammad is a Final Call production assistant and Chicago-based writer and videographer.)

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