Dear friends and family,
Miracle #8 of my mission: discovering the power of happiness
(a.k.a. always smile).
A few weeks back I wrote about the power of sadness. Today I’d
like to write about the power that comes from choosing to be happy because doing
so has been an undeniable miracle of my mission experience. If it’s not already
clear, I am absolutely love with the mission. I can readily recall moments and
experiences from the last 2 years that honestly represent some of the happiest times
of my life. I remember the reunion with my start group that took place at the
first verifications, when we all returned to Quito after honestly surviving our
first 4 weeks alone in our individual areas. I remember turning 19 in the
poorest of circumstances in Aire Libre and crying with all of these people,
these complete strangers, who loved and shared with me so simply. I remember
blending coconut juice in the house in Tulcan and laughing so hard with Elders
Castagno, Morales and Miranda because, well…it’s not easy opening a coconut. I
remember traveling to Ipiales for the first time with President Murphy. I
remember so many beautiful and sacred baptismal services. I remember the “did
you see that?” glance of Elder Cuevas as he shed his fears of talking to people
in the street. I remember many concealed chuckles with Hermano Munoz during church
in La Luz. I will never forget what I’ve felt as I’ve lived these moments completely
devoted in service to others and to God. It is beautiful.
Being here has given me the perfect opportunity to look
inside and really evaluate and learn who I am. And one of the things I’ve most
realized out here is that in almost all situations, being happy is a matter of
choice. Hay que vivir feliz. Choose to be happy! Here are some of the questions
that help me:
- Why am I so quick to think evil of someone? How does it change if I think positively?
- Who or what situation am I judging unfairly?
- What do I lose simply assume the good? What do I honestly gain assuming the bad?
- What is “deserve”? And what do I deserve?
- Why don’t I smile more, it doesn’t cost a thing?
- Why don’t I complement more, it doesn’t cost a thing?
- Why don’t I show genuine excitement for and interest in the achievements of others? It doesn’t cost a thing, yet means the world to those who receive it?
- What regret should I let go of and forget?
- What do I truly hope for?
- What do I need to change to assure that I start and end every day with happiness and peace?
- How do I feel when others serve me? How do I feel after serving? How do I feel receiving kindness?
My point is this: there are a lot of things that affect our
mood that we can’t control. Therefore it’s so much more important that we do
our best on the parts that we can. When we do this, I have found that almost EVERYTHING
almost ALWAYS comes out JUST FINE. And that’s when we really start living. We
become happy just being ourselves.
Water has been really unreliable this week. In our house, it
seems to come and go every 48 hours. But we are fortunate, other houses haven’t
had water all week! Without water, we haven’t been able to wash our clothes and
that has made things a little extra sweaty. So the other day, we ventured to a
different part of our sector, to a different laundromat, hoping to wash some
essentials. Upon arriving, we heard “just leave your clothes with us, it’s
already late…we’ll have them for you in the morning.” I immediately thought about
sleeping a night without bedsheets. This is a perfect example of something I could
not control. The guy at the laundromat wasn’t looking to hurt me or make me
sleep on a raw mattress. I smiled and went on my way happy and that was all.
Live happy! Life is great.
Day after day, I find myself in situations that prompt a
deep breath, a look around, and a sincere appreciation for every little moment
of life. And the miracle of it all: my joy is something given me as I do my
best with the things I can control. This lesson applies to all of us and
something I will use for the rest of my life. I’ve grown to be happy with
myself, independent of anyone else. See you in 4 weeks.
- EE
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