Resilience Even in The Face of Adversity.

Ever feigned a smile so much that you can't tell whether you're truly happy or not? Seeing an individual who is truly happy on this planet can be really hard but the funny part of it all is that happiness is one of the easiest emotions to come by, so why not maintain it when it comes?

We share quotes like "happiness is free" or "you owe it to yourself to be happy" with others but do we actually believe these quotes we share? And if we believe in them, do we abide by them?

Personally, the quote "you owe it to yourself to be happy" means a whole lot to me. I interpret it in a simple but direct way; "life isn't a bed of roses and bad things are bound to happen but what do I do when these bad things happen? Beat myself up about something I cannot change while remaining in a constantly bad mood? Or maintain a positive character while trying to make amends or prevent futuristic reoccurrence of the bad events? The latter always ALWAYS produces a happy human being and the former? Not so much.

If there's one thing I know about emotions, it would be the fact that we can and should learn to control them. Last I checked, a good percentage of those who allow their emotions to control them usually end up making terrible life decisions. From where I stand, having control over your own emotions always seems like the best bet. Once you are able to do this, you become unstoppable.

Growing up, I derived so much motivation from a handicap man who lived close to us. This could be due to the fact that whenever I looked at him, I saw resilience, I saw possibilities and I saw a soul who was willing to live his life to the fullest irrespective of the situation he was in.

He was a cobbler and I loved visiting his shop. Why? He was always filled with this positive energy and he ensured that he put a smile on the face of everyone he came across.

This act of his got me thinking a whole lot. I knew for a fact that if I was handicapped, I would curl up somewhere and avoid the world. I knew I wouldn't get the strength to smile, talk less of putting this smile on other people's faces. I wouldn't want to work because I was handicapped of course. But this man did all these and he was evidently happy enough to keep living.