The temperature is close to 100 degrees and the humidity is at 94% and very oppressive as I stand in a place I had imagined as paradise.  I am surrounded by at least 50 butterflies in an enclosure called the Butterfly Experience.  I had envisioned a nice air conditioned sanctuary where these winged creatures and the earthbound could coexist in harmony and comfort; but sadly that was not the case.

        My shirt is drenched in perspiration, my eyes are stinging from the sweat running down my face and I am feeling a little disoriented as I wonder why I thought this would be paradise on earth.  Sure I am locked in a cage of butterflies, but the stifling temperatures combined with the muggy humidity give this sanctuary all the charm and comfort of a crock pot.  And to add insult to injury I could not get the butterflies to cooperate at all; they were extremely camera shy (maybe that is one of the symptoms of a heat stroke, I do not know).

        I had left my house thinking that I would be happy as soon as I reached the butterfly paradise.  I had mistaken happiness with a destination.  Like many others I believed happiness could be found in a place; and as soon as I reach that place I would be happy.  Some people mistakenly believe that they will be happy when they meet that special somebody, get a new car, find a new house, locate a different mate, get that promotion or turn 16 years old.  But sadly, we all eventually find out that when we chase after happiness we are actually running away from contentment because happiness is not found in a place, a think or a person.

        The pursuit of happiness seldom reaches the land of contentment; because happiness is not a destination but a disposition.  We have to come to the realization that if we don’t enjoy what we have now, how can we be happier with more?  Let us take an inventory of the many wonderful blessings in our lives; health, people who love us, freedom, food, and air conditioning.  How dare we grip and complain?  We are obscenely wealthy compared to most of the world and still we are in a never ending search for that one thing that will bring us happiness.  But that thing is only a mirage; happiness is found in the ordinary people and situations that surround you today.  Happiness is a choice.

Something to think about:

• Success is getting what you want; happiness is in wanting what you get.

• It is not the level of prosperity that makes for happiness but the kinship of heart to heart and the way we look at the world. Both attitudes are within our power, so that a man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy, and no one can stop him.

• Never look at what you have lost; look at what you have left.

• With the right attitude, all the problems in the world will not make you a failure. With the wrong mental attitude, all the help in the world will not make you a success.

• At any moment in life we have the option to choose an attitude of gratitude, a posture of grace, a commitment to joy.

• It all depends on how we look at things, and not how they are in themselves.

• The world is full of untold novelties for him who has the eyes to see them.

• Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.

Thankful for the miracles of an ordinary day
Rickey Moore