A Happiness Reminder from my Students-Six Word Fridays

One of the things that I love about being a teacher is when my students teach something to me.  Today in my composition class, we were reading a brief description about the renowned Guatemalan human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu.  One of the questions that followed the piece was about the contradiction between Menchu’s upbeat and jovial personality and the great pain that she suffered from the murder of her family members and the mistreatment of the Indigenous people.  Many of my students didn’t see that as a contradiction at all.  One argued that when you experience a great loss, you often lower your expectations of life and thus find more to be happy about.  Another said that when you have gone through a traumatic event and have survived, you often enjoy a new appreciation for life.  I was charmed by their answers because they reminded me of how I have felt since my divorce.

My reasoning is a little different though.  The way I see it is that something that I had imagined to be terrifying, traumatic and, frankly, unthinkable happened.  I lost the person who I thought was my biggest ally, my best friend and my dearest lover.  Yet I didn’t fall apart.  This mere act of survival was tremendously uplifting.

I felt as if worry no longer had a hold on me because if this feared event had turned out for the best, then maybe all the other things that I feared would also do so.  Maybe I didn’t need to dread anything at all.  Maybe if I just enjoyed the path of life I would find that all my fears had been unfounded.  If I could divorce my soul mate and feel happier than ever, I could survive anything.

I hadn’t anticipated that our discussion of Menchu would hold a life lesson for me as well.  When I returned home and checked my email, I found that one of the blogs that I have started following was asking for links to articles on the topic of thankfulness.  You all know how I love to express gratitude.  I am not grateful because I am happy.  I’m happy because I am grateful.

So today I am particularly thankful.  I am thankful for my divorce, for teaching me that worry is an illusion created by the mind, and that happiness is a choice we make.  I am thankful for my students, for demonstrating to me that others feel the same way.  I am thankful for my life, for continuing to surprise me.

So go check out the other Six Word Friday posts on thankfulness.  Many are quite poetic.  And do tell me, what are you thankful for?  Have you ever found that crisis led you to a deeper appreciation of your life?

Related posts:

1. Happiness is an Inside Job