Monday, March 27, 2000

Day 86, March 27

Writers are, by nature, observers. We watch, we evaluate, we consider. In the past few months, I've had the opportunity to observe some very different individuals. I could not help but compare and contrast.

I watched while one wife and mother abandoned her husband, her two young children, and her religion, ignoring covenants and promises. And I watched while her husband picked up the pieces of the life they had made together, gathered his two little boys close to him, and moved forward in faith.

I watched as another husband turned away from his wife and his smal daughter, choosing his addictions over them. And I watched as his wife forged ahead, determined to make a life for herself and her daughter.

Selfishness and selflessness. Two words, derived from the same root, but with very different meanings.

The other night, I spoke with my grown son and asked how he was doing. He said that he had decided to "choose happiness." The simplicity of the words did not negate their impact: to choose happiness.

Happiness, as defined by the world, includes such things as material possessions, financial success, fame, notoriety, and excess. My son, still in his 30s, has a much more mature and eternal definition of happiness: doing what is right despite difficult circumstances.

So, for today, I am grateful for those who choose happiness.