It's fine to reflect and recall hardships, but it's better to lay them aside and reach for the moments when someone somewhere showed you love.

I have always been able to make my life happier than it might have been.  As a child, I remember the chaos and unhappiness we sometimes suffered, but I also remember the love. It was something that came naturally and something we shared day to day. Life was not simpler then, but there were more opportunities for finding happiness in the little things. Happiness comes from living in the moment and doing the little things that make you smile, laugh or forget.


As a child my life was filled with sisters, brothers and dreams. One of the little things I remember is the time spent huddled together on my brother's bed situated in the corner of a room at the rear of our house. We'd talk about what we planned to to with our lives or what we learned in school during the week. We'd plan our future together while our parents were away at work. 


We all wanted brand new cars, a large house, two children playing in the yard, and porch swings. We all wanted two cats, two dogs and enough money to go around. We didn't need an excess of dollars, only enough to buy things we needed and a few things that we didn't need. 


Life was simple then, or was it? There were experiences of extreme bullying in schools and gang fights after school; there were acts of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual abuse in homes: there were circumstances of poverty and scarcity, especially after a divorce. But there was also love. 


I could reach back in time and pull out stories of abusive or cheating husbands, domestic arguments and fights; child molesters posturing as relatives, clergymen or senators; child abuse and beatings. Or I could reach for the love that showed up at Thanksgiving and Christmas in the form of mothers at home and in the neighborhood working half-way through the night and serving a meal fit for kings and queens, always with a smile on their faces and a look of love in their eyes. Or I could try to describe the pride on my mother's face at one of our high school graduations because the accomplishments of one was an achievement for an entire family.


One step at a time, chances at life are taken and challenges are faced, but happiness takes place in moments of living and loving, one day at a time. It's fine to reflect and recall hardships, but it's better to lay them aside and reach for the moments when someone somewhere showed you love. Such moments are part of the little things that allow us to appreciate our experiences and find happiness in life.