When you are happy, you make your happiness, and you accept it. I am speaking of a gentle stream of happiness, not a rollicking tidal wave. Too much happiness all the time could wear you out. Yes, gentle happiness is good, a gentle stream of loving yourself.

Unhappiness may seem to be visited upon you, yet you have often accepted unhappiness as a guest as well. Sure, unhappiness comes and goes, yet a steady current of feeling deep unhappiness is not a total stranger to you.

Equate happiness with love. Equate unhappiness with lack of love. Allow love to stream from your heart minute by minute and allow love to stream in from wherever it comes minute by minute, and, yes, you are happy.

We are not speaking of dramatic love. We are speaking of simple love streaming. The love does not have to have a name. Love flowing is all you require in order to name yourself happy. Just these little simple moments, for instance, as when you feel the computer keys under your fingers as they trot your words right along, or when you are sleepy and rub your eyes, or when you are anything at all that you are aware of.

Right now you could be pulling up a shade and looking out a window. Right now you could be watching the Sun rise, or you could be watching the Sun set and Stars come out and a perfect Circle of the Moon and the Glory of God sparkling in the Sky.

These little moments multiplied all over the Universe can be your happiness because you like these moments.

Even as noises of the night may annoy you, noises of the night also provide joy. Just to think about it - horns honking or insects chirping - doesn’t matter. Something is precious to you.

What sounds and sights are not precious to you when all is said or done?

Someone’s coughing could annoy you, yet, in the midst of coughing, a human being is sharing the world with you as he coughs, and this moment, this moment of a time and only a time is fast-passing and precious in its essence and not to be thrown out.

Even the couple next door could be arguing. The sounds of arguing are not precious, yet even arguing is life, and life is stirring, and if today were the last day you would ever hear even arguing, suddenly you might gasp at its preciousness, for this tone has also been part of life. This tone is saying someone cares a lot about something.

Think of it. You live in a world, and you share this world. You share life. You are beholden to life. Confess, what a miracle.

Once you did not exist as you know yourself to exist. Once you were not a twinkle in your father’s eye. Once you were a baby. Once you were happy with a wooden spool to play with. Now you are an adult, and somehow you may have put your merriment away and traded it in for somber seriousness. Whatever price you pay for seriousness is costly.

You can be serious and have joy at the same time. Why not? All it takes is engaging in life as it comes up. Just as how you can dance a fox trot or a mambo and be happy with either or both. Whose choice is it? Life is for you to chose. You are life, and life is always yours for the taking.

If you knew that the Grim Reaper would pick you up tomorrow at 3 o’clock, how precious might tomorrow be? It could be a rainy dark day, and it would be utterly precious to you. All these little moments that make up a day are enough for happiness.

Is it too much that I ask you to be happy?

Wipe away your tears, and be happy anyway. What do you have to lose but unhappiness?