Today is International Day of Happiness. When asked to write an article about this day of celebration I realized that I had never heard about International Day of Happiness. So I did a little research on the dayofhappiness.net website and discovered how this special day got started and what it is all about. Here is what I found:
What is the International Day of Happiness? It’s a day to be happy, of course! Since 2013, the United Nations has celebrated the International Day of Happiness as a way to recognize the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world. In 2015 the UN launched 17 Sustainable Development Goals that seek to end poverty, reduce inequality, and protect our planet – three key aspects that lead to well-being and happiness.
I began to reflect upon what Happiness means to me. I thought about Happiness being an amazing benefit of abstinence and recovery. Happiness is part of having positive energy as I go about my day and interact with those around me. My dog Ellie makes me happy. My husband Phil makes me happy. My friends make me happy. Looking at a flower or enjoying a beautiful sunset over the Gulf of Mexico makes me happy. Laughter makes me happy. Holding a newborn baby makes me happy. There are many people, places and things in my life today that make me happy.
Page 133 in “Big Book” Alcoholics Anonymous says,” We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free. We cannot subscribe to the belief that this life is a vale of tears, though it once was just that for many of us.” So Happiness – for those of us who follow a Twelve Step program – is something we can pretty much trust as a result of recovery.
I can also relate with what the BB reading says because life was a “vale of tears” for much of my life as a food addict who was active in her disease. I was deeply unhappy for many, many years. However, I imagine that most people around me didn’t have a clue as to just how unhappy I truly was. I was the little fat girl – and adult – who always had a smile on my face while inside I felt sad, worthless and depressed. I was unhappy.
- I thought that being thin would make me Happy.
- I thought that having the right clothes would make me Happy.
- I thought that if only you liked me, I would be Happy.
- I thought that if I had a fancy car I would be Happy. That one didn’t work; I ended up with a fancy car, huge payments and unhappiness.
- I thought that if I had the right house and right furnishings, I would be happy.
- I thought that if my partner would only take out the garbage right when I asked, I would be happy.
- I thought that if I could go on a fancy vacation, I would be happy. I love fancy vacations and have been in some of the most beautiful parts of the world, but because I wasn’t FREE, I wasn’t truly happy.
- If only … if only … if only …
Over the last week I’ve read several things on Happiness. One quote stands out to me:
This beautiful quote by Dutch Philosopher, Desiderius Erasmus (born in 1466), speaks to my heart. Becoming willing to be what I truly am has been life-saving, life-changing, life-enhancing and completely liberating for me.
When I denied who I am (not was) as a food addict I was never truly happy. I was always fighting against reality. I did everything I could to deny reality. I tried diet after diet. I gained weight and lost weight. I attempted to be a “normal” eater to the point of watching how “those people” ate and then trying my best to copy them. I gave myself permission to not deprive myself of any foods. This experiment worked for about 10 minutes. I spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars working on my “issues” thinking that if I only uncovered “why” I ate then I wouldn’t eat! Whew! That was exhausting! Although I got some help with my “issues,” I never got the support I needed to sustain abstinence from out-of-control eating.
Once I learned that food addiction is a real and treatable disease, received appropriate treatment for this disease, and surrendered to the needed structure and support to maintain abstinence and recovery, I not only lost 200 pounds but also began to experience freedom from the obsession while no longer living in bondage to food or my thinking. This is real Happiness.
So, how might I celebrate International Day of Happiness today … and every day?
- By admitting that I’m a food addict.
- By accepting that I am a food addict and that this just ain’t gonna change.
- By putting my abstinence and recovery first – no matter what.
- By building my life each day around what I have to do for my abstinence and recovery rather than building my abstinence and recovery around what I want to do in my life that day.
- By staying deeply connected with people who, like me, are “willing to be what he (she) is.”
- By saying Yes to suggestions from my spiritual guides and mentors.
- By being of service to others who share my same struggles.
- By expressing gratitude for the amazing gifts of recovery.
- By acknowledging that I don’t feel Happy every day. And knowing that if I keep doing what I’ve been doing I will get through whatever is troubling me and eventually be Happy, Joyous and FREE again.
- By trusting deep in my heart that the chiefest point of happiness for me, Mary Foushi, is being willing to be – today – what I am.
My hope for you today is that you celebrate International Day of Happiness in whatever way makes you truly and profoundly Happy.
With love and deep Happiness,
Mary