When my son Morgen became a teenager he was a little on the sober side—like Shawn Bradley is a little on the tall side. He kept to himself, answered questions in one-word grunts, and moaned about having to do awful things like take a vacation or go skiing. He didn’t really seem depressed, but neither was he really engaged with life or people. In other words, he was a teenager.
Three weeks ago he started to change. He started announcing, “It’s a beautiful day” in multiple languages. His voice took on an enthusiastic tone. He has always had a killer sense of humor but he started using it. I assumed he had just grown out of his sullen phase, but a week later he told me there was more to it. This is what happened:
He made a decision. A decision to be like Connor. A decision to be happy.
Happiness doesn’t just happen to us—it’s something we have to invest in, work at, learn about, and persevere with just as we would expect to work for and invest in earning monetary currency. Once we realize this, we aren’t stuck with waiting around for the bird of happiness to land upon us. We can cultivate happiness as a garden, and well worth the effort required.
“In all of living have much of fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured”
- President Gordon B. Hinckley
I guess if a teenage boy can decide to be happy and succeed at it, the rest of us have a good shot at learning to enjoy life as well.
