What is in the way of your happiness?

We live in a society that values events.  We use events as milestones to measure our achievement: graduations, marriages and birthdays, finding the job, reaching the goal.  We tell ourselves that when we arrive, when the event occurs, we will be happy.  This unfortunate focus on events robs us of the joy of life.  Why?  Because we are always looking to the future for our happiness!  If we are continually waiting for the next event, the next milestone to define ourselves by, how can we experience joy in the moment?  Disapproval and disappointment come from wanting to arrive.  The problem is that, since we are always growing, there is no such thing as arriving.  If we tell ourselves that we can only be happy when we have arrived, we cannot experience any lasting happiness.  Once the excitement of the latest achievement has worn off, we find the next thing to work toward and don't allow ourselves to be satisfied until we have "arrived" at the next benchmark.  Now, don't get me wrong.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with setting goals and working to achieve them.  The problem comes in when we allow our happiness and self-worth to be tied up in reaching the goal.  When we recognize that life is a process of discovery and rediscovery - that we are continually growing, we can learn to appreciate and value the process, rather than events.  We can see the perfection in each moment.  We can allow ourselves to find the joy in where we are right now.  Happiness is a state of being that is independent of any circumstance.  We can choose to experience joy any time we want.  So why not choose to be grateful for the journey right now? Why not enjoy this moment?  See it as a precious gift.  Tomorrow is only promised to some. Why not choose to be happy right now?  The only thing standing in the way of your happiness is you.