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Happiness - "It's Not About Me" by Nikki Willhite Everyone wants to be happy. Unfortunately, some people go about it in all the wrong ways. Some people think  that material possessions will bring them happiness. Happiness  is always one possession away. If they can just buy that car or boat, move into a nicer house, or make just a little more money, they think they will be happy. The irony is that when you stop thinking about having as much fun as you can in this life, and start thinking about other people, you become happy. It took me a long time to learn that life isn't about me. My happiness isn't  related to how much fun I can cram into my life, or anything that I mistakenly thought I had to have. I love to listen to Dave Ramsey. He teaches people to get out of debt- all their debt. He doesn't care if you have to live on rice and beans to do it. Then once you are out of debt, you can start saving money and acquire wealth - wealth that you can use to be comfortable as you get older, but more importantly,  put yourself in a position to help other people. Whether we have money or not, we can still do the things that make lead to our being happy. Every day presents opportunities to help other people, from small acts of kindness to larger acts that require sacrifice on our part. What are your goals in life?  Are they self-serving, or do they require you giving of your time and talents to help other people?  We have heard many stories of service and sacrifice in our day. Do you remember when Air Florida Flight 90 plunged into the Potomac river in 1982? That was a horrible plane crash in the dead of winter.  That flight had 74 people on it, and all but 5 were killed. It was January, and the water was very cold. The survivors were tenuously perched on or swimming near the slippery tail of the sinking airplane.  They did not have much time before the cold water and hypothermia would kill them.  A helicopter was first to arrive on the scene.  The men on the helicopter lowered a line that they hoped the survivors could  grasp so they could drag them to shore. The first person to grab hold of the line was Bert Hamilton.  He was in the water near the tail of the airplane. A man named Arland Williams was the second person to catch the line thrown down by the helicopter.  However, instead of wrapping the line around himself, he passed it to the flight attendant, Kelly Duncan. When the helicopter returned, this time it lowered two lifelines, fearing that time was running out for the survivors. . Arland  Williams once again caught the line. Once again he passed it away, this time to a  man named Joe Stiley, who had been seriously hurt in the plane crash. Stiley slipped the line on, and grabbed hold of Priscilla Tirado, who was barely functional,  being extremely distraught having lost her husband and baby in the crash.  Before they reached the shore, they both lost their grip and fell back into the water. The helicopter tried to give Priscilla the line again, but she was so cold and weak that she could not take hold of it. At this point, a person watching on the shore, Lenny Skutnit, took off his coat and boots, and dove with short sleeves into the icy water to pull her to shore. One of the paramedics also jumped from the helicopter into the cold water to attach the line to her. By the time the helicopter made it back to the plane,  the tail had finally slipped into the water, and both the plane, and Arland were gone. Some would think that survival at all costs should have been the goal of Arland. Some would think the firefighters going up the Trade Center Towers when everyone was coming down was foolish. Life is short. Generations of people have lived before us, and died before us. The length of their lives isn't important. The way they lived their lives is. Most of us will never have the opportunity to do something as heroic as Arland Williams. Most of us do not have jobs that require us to put our lives on the line every day, like our military, fire fighters, and police force. Yet every day we can choose whether to think of others or to think of ourselves. It matters how you live. It matters how you die.  It matters how you treat your fellow man.  If you want to be truly happy, remember these words- "It's not about me." About the Author: Nikki Willhite, mother of 3 and an interior design graduate, has been writing and publishing articles on the topic of frugal living for over a decade. Visit her at www.frugalhappyfamilies.com - where you will find hundreds of frugal living tips and articles. Frugal Happy Families- more than just money!

 

 

 

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