“Ask yourself if you are happy, and you cease to be so.” -John Stuart Mill
“We are never happy; we can only remember that we were once.” -Alexander Smith
Gretchen Rubin says she rejects both of these.
I think there’s some truth in both of them, insofar as they can be true. You can reflect on your situation and immediately become dissatisfied where you weren’t before. You can reflect on what’s happening now and feel like you don’t have enough.
I think many people go through life this way.
But I don’t think it must be this way. And I don’t think it should be this way.
I think you and I can reflect on what’s happening now and feel completely satisfied, fully fulfilled, intensely grateful.
I think it’s a choice.
I know it’s a choice.
Choice is what it means to give thanks.
