I am about to get on a soapbox, so if you’re not the type that likes getting preached at, then I suggest you hit [Apple+W]. If you’re a PC user, don’t worry, your computer will crash soon or your newest version of spyware/virus/firewall software will freeze up your computer needing you to hard reboot. Just close the computer.
Still with me?
So here it is, my soapbox message about how where you live affects how happy you live:
It doesn’t
In all the places I have lived, (Maryland, Virginia, California, North Carolina, Florida, and Minnesota) I have learned that climate is never a deal-breaker for happiness. (By the way, these are places I have lived – not vacationed)
I say no regrets because as I sat in the basement tonight with my wife and two kids (along with some good friends who were over tonight for a game of Settlers and dessert) I was reminded that, because happiness cannot be broken by bad climate, it can neither be established by it. Tonight’s impending threat of Tornado, reminded me of all the nights I spent huddled up with my family during hurricane season in FL. It was a wonderful night! Why, because it was more than obvious that I was with the people I loved and by whom I was loved.
Living in an undesirable climate cannot make you unhappy. What living in an undesirable climate can do is magnify the already existing frustrations that exist in your life.
- I’m frustrated with my husband – the bad weather here reminds me that it’s his fault.
- I’m frustrated that I have been sheltered – the bad weather is a sign that I never got to vacation in Hawaii
- I’m frustrated that what where I am reminds me of the past I’ve lived – so the bad weather is just a sign that I should run from my past instead of confronting it with emotional maturity
These frustrations make us say dumb things like:
- If I only lived in some place warmer, I’d be happy
Great weather may appear to initiate good feelings, but it will not sustain it.
Here is what I think defines happiness:
Happiness is simply found living in and living out the Lord’s will, not in what you perceive to be the climate “of the Lord”
Too simple? Too spiritual?
Exactly my point.