I Blog Poetry and Prose

Choose Happiness

Istijlál (Majesty), 14 Bahá (Splendor) 177 B.E. Thursday, April 2, 2020

         "I myself was in prison forty years – one year alone would have been impossible to bear – nobody survived that imprisonment more than a year! But, thank God, during all those forty years I was supremely happy! Every day, on waking, it was like hearing good tidings, and every night infinite joy was mine. Spirituality was my comfort, and turning to God was my greatest joy. If this had not been so, do you think it possible that I could have lived through those forty years in prison?

         Thus, spirituality is the greatest of God’s gifts, and ‘Life Everlasting’ means ‘Turning to God’."

Abdu’l-Baha12

I choose happiness,
contentment with what I have,
gratitude for everything that happens to me,
focus on the joy and beauty of everyday existence,
and placing all the negatives in my life in the hands of God.

Happiness
is a positive decision
that transforms the midnight hours
of tests and difficulties
into golden moments
that transform the soul,
and bring peace to the mind.

Footnotes
1  Paris Talks
2  Quoted in 4 Ways to Choose Happiness in a Time of Crisis by Kathy Roman https://bahaiteachings.org/ways-choose-happiness-time-crisis/.