When an aspect of life seem intolerable to you, it is because it is not what you sought. You did not request this interference to your happiness. It was not what you wanted, and so you protest. This resistance of yours trips you up more than any event. The situation you face is your own tightening.

You have a mind-set, and you do not want it disturbed. And so you distress yourself about it.

You are always the event. What occurs is you. Wherever you turn, you come face to face with yourself. You are the arbiter of your life. You are the hero, or you are the curmudgeon.

Often, perhaps always, you are learning something else other than what you thought you were.

When you lose a loved one, you may think your lesson is to learn how to get along without them. Perhaps your lesson is that there is no loss, there is no finality, that whatever goes on in the world, you are complete with or without it.

When you are disappointed, when you meet unfairness, when you are up against it, what is it really that you are up against? You are up against your own thoughts and conclusions and all the summations you draw.

All the untoward that befalls you, you let make you unhappy, and the unhappiness drags on. Unhappiness can last for years. It can become like an old uniform you can't seem to give away.

All the bountiful that comes your way, however, does not make you happy, or happy for long. You get used to it. You get used to the raise. You get used to the new house. You get used to love. Now you want more of the same or something else.

One cure is to not get used to the blessings bestowed on you. Instead, welcome them every day, for even the same blessing is new every day when you welcome it. You've heard this before. Count your blessings. You've heard it, but when did you last do it?

Right now list all the blessings in your life. There are many, are there not? Write them down on paper and in your heart. Let blessings be your touchstones.

Even so, the innumerable blessings are not the cause of your happiness. You are.

One of your greatest blessings is the ability to give of yourself. What does that mean? It means to shed a little light. It means to share a glimpse of you. Through you, others see themselves. So light their smile just as you would their cigarette.

What separates you from that other Human being before you? Only your ideas. But regardless of what your ideas are, you share your life with this other Human being. You come from the same Human family, whatever your last name may be. Humanity is basic to you, and love is its basis.

Even stones are kind to one another. They take no offense and give none.

So, today, bestow a blessing on another, and multiply your own. But bestow for the joy of it. You are passing out tokens of God. This is a pleasant task. Pass out some of yourself today. Pass it around.

You are not this body shuffling around on earth. Your body is the least of you. Right from where you are now, you can leave something of yourself. Perhaps you will leave graciousness. Perhaps you will leave hope for greater joy. Perhaps you will leave greater joy. Whatever it may be, today leave something valuable in your wake for all those who will pass by on the same sidewalk as you. Leave footsteps for someone to follow.