I learned to be happy because I know what unhappiness feels like.
Lilly Singh
This quote touched me.
It reminded me of what my Pastor spoke of just this past Sunday, actually. He was talking about things such as: how do you know that God provides, unless you are in the position to have a need? How do you know the comfort Jesus can give, if you don’t feel suffering?
I think this is why gratitude lists are so effective, especially for those of us on a road of recovery from mental health issues. Not saying that they can be ‘cured’, but rather, well managed. I feel the pain and sadness, i.e. unhappiness that life inevitably brings and that my mental illness magnifies. When I sit and reflect on things I’m grateful for, I can stop focusing on that hurt and turn towards the positive for at least a time. It makes finding the happiness easier each time I experience a negative in my life.
Unfortunately, to feel happiness, you do have to know what the opposite feels like. To know what joy is, you must know sorrow. Or at least, to truly appreciate it, in my opinion.
I’m grateful for my sorrow and pain, because those feelings have made me appreciate the joy in my life so much more.
I wonder if you, my readers, feel similarly? Or do you have a different theory?
The Obsessively Anxious 