Happy? Maybe you are and maybe you’re not. But, one thing is certain, you have the right to try to be happy.

 You have the right to pursue happiness in your own life. No doubt about it, we like to be happy. And there is nothing wrong with that.  Like our country’s Founding Fathers wrote in our Declaration of Independence so long ago, we have the right of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” But that right written into the Declaration of Independence, to pursue happiness, does not guarantee your happiness. It only guarantees that you have the right to chase it.

 But understand this; your contentment and happy-level is not supposed to be the focal point of everyone else. Your happiness is your problem. Not your employer’s, not your parents, and not your spouse. And definitely not the government’s goal!  Too many have the wrong idea, that ‘someone else is responsible for me.’ Wrong! As an adult, you have the responsibility for your own income, your own lifestyle, and your own happiness in life.

 Some pursue money, others pursue someone they are attracted to romantically. Others pursue power and authority. But everyone who is in hot pursuit of something or someone has one thing in common. They believe this will make them happy. “That million-dollar salary, that red Corvette, or that cute little blonde is just what I need.” And that is their God-given right – to chase their dream and try to make it real.

 Just make certain what you are pursuing is the real deal. Not much worse than working for years toward that dream job and then discovering, after you have that title behind your name, that there are hidden stresses and heavy requirements that just do not fit you.  And will make you hate it after a while. Or spending your days dreaming and chasing after the “one and only person in the world for me” only to marry and learn, too late, that your glitterin dream is now a nightmare.

 Another thing.

 No one can be responsible for the happiness of another. If your single-minded goal is to make someone else totally happy, then you are on a difficult climb up a mountain of impossibility. The job of seeking ways to be contented in their life belongs to the other person. There is no way you can force them to be happy, if they do not choose to be.

 Only One can see ahead and know what will make a person contented in life. The One who knows all, before it happens. The One who created you and has a plan for your life. More than a parent, a life coach/counselor, or any other well-meaning person in your life, I would strongly suggest you consult your God how to be a happy and contented individual who has a definite purpose here on earth.

 And you can celebrate your own personal Fourth of July.