This Is How I Found Happiness

My friend and I were discussing happiness.

“I’m waiting for it,” she said.

“I’m waiting for it, too,” I concurred.

Yet, when our conversation ended, I still managed to have a smile on my face because I was reminded by how grateful I was to have her in my life. We call each other back and forth to share silly details about our day, ask for advice, cry, laugh, complain, pick outfits — pretty much anything, really. Which got me me thinking about all of the people in my life that I’m grateful for.

People that I call family, people that are family, people that have come and go, people that have stayed, people that have taught me a lesson, people that I have taught a lesson. People.

And, from that moment on, I decided that I wasn’t going to wait for happiness. Happiness was not circumstantial. Happiness was whatever I decided it was. And I decided that it was my relationships.

My relationships with people who are able to ground me, yet help me grow. People who make me better, yet accept me for who I am. People who are there for me when I need them, yet give me space to heal when I don’t.

My happiness comes from loving them, and from being thankful for each and every one of them. They are the secret to the smile on my face, and all I can ever hope for is to be the secret to theirs.

I hope you have people like that in your life. And if you don’t, I hope you are that person for yourself. Because, no matter what happiness is to you, it still comes from within. Make sure you’re happy with the person that stares back at you in the mirror every morning.