“Happiness is less an emotion and more a decision, a decision to bear with one another.”

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, How Happiness Happens (p. 34). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

That is so true, isn’t it?

Max says, “By the way, don’t people bear with you? The next time you find it difficult to live with others, imagine what it is like to live with you.”

And that is also very true, isn’t it?

Later he says, “We have eagle-eye vision when it comes to others but can be blind as moles when we examine ourselves. Were we to be honest, brutally honest, don’t we spend more time trying to fix others than we should? Don’t we have more expertise on the faults of our friends than the faults of ourselves?

“We tend to be like the fellow on the interstate. As he was driving, he received a call from his wife. She was panicked. ‘Honey, be careful. I just heard on the radio that some fellow is traveling down the highway on the wrong side of the road!’

“The husband’s reply was equally urgent. ‘That’s not the half of it, sweetheart. It’s not just one car going the wrong way. It’s hundreds!’”

I love that!

He goes on, “You think the world needs more tolerance? Then be tolerant. You wish people would quit complaining? When you quit, the world is minus one whiner. Nobody gives a hoot about the poor? The hoot level will increase with your compassion. If you want to change the world, begin with yourself. Before you point out the specks in the eyes of others, make sure you aren’t sporting a sequoia limb.”

He goes on, “There is a time to speak up. Before you do, check your motives. The goal is to help, never to hurt. Look at yourself before you look down on others. Rather than put them in their place, put yourself in their place.”

At the end of this chapter, Max says, “Cut people some slack. Ease up. Reduce your number of peeves, and be patient with the people who pet them.

“The world, for all its quirky people, is a wonderful place to live.

“The sooner we can find the beauty, the happier we will be.

And that is so true, so, we need to bear with each other, don’t we? 

Yes, yes!