Learning to be happy in the "hard"

When I was single I would dream of finding THE ONE and could not wait until my happily ever after got started. Being single was hard and lonely. I anxiously looked to the future and marriage and happiness. ?

Then I got married and discovered that marriage is hard and I still sometimes felt lonely and I couldn’t wait until we had lots of babies to bring fun and happiness to our lives. ?

Then our marriage began to crumble. And I learned that divorce is hard. ?

Then I learned that being single with two young children is hard. ?

And I’m realizing that it will always be hard. Whether you are single, or married, or divorced, or have young kids, or can’t have kids, or have older kids making bigger mistakes, or are an empty nester, or are working too many hours at a job you hate, or are unemployed wishing you had a job to hate... life is full of hard. ?

The trick is to learn to be happy in the hard. To find the goodness, no matter how small it might be. We must stop waiting for the next phase of life, stop looking for happiness around the next corner, and learn to find it wherever we are right in this moment. ?

Because before you know it, this moment somehow becomes years and years that have passed you by. ?

Choose to be happy in the hard!

(Adapted thoughts from @nikkiharmon)