Our spiritual development is timed!  We are only given so many designated days in this wonderful world to pursue our purpose.

My “much younger sister” turned 60 last week!!!  Yikes, how did that happen?  Still reeling from that realization, I decided to tackle the spring-cleaning job of sorting through the piled up boxes of “treasures” that we have been storing in the precious garage space, dealing with old photograph albums (boxes of them that have more miles between CA, MT, and AZ than most professional truck drivers).  These two incidences acted like the one-two jab knocking me for a loop.

As I relived my life through the photos capturing the highlights of my life, a wave of melancholy coupled with anxiety  swept through me realizing how our precious time on this earth is flying by. How much time do I have left to enjoy and fulfill my dreams?  As always, the guilt-sponge, I wondered if I am living up to “God’s billing” for me during my brief journey.  Will I have any regrets on my deathbed?  Will God be pleased?  Am I pleased with my life?

Our time spent on this planet is designed with purpose.  We are here to love and be loved…simple as that.  We are here to enjoy, living “in joy”!  My 7^th secret for guilt-free living reminds us that, “happiness is not a gift, but a skill”.  Oftentimes, we get sidetracked, being pulled down a detour of distractions of our primary mission.  We get caught up in the “doing” the “getting”, and the “having”, losing sight of our just “being”.

Each of us is a gift to each other; sometimes we are the teacher, sometimes we are the student.  We don’t come neatly wrapped.  We may even be raggedy and dirty.  We may even be referred to as a “pain in the neck”.  But whatever our packaging, we are gifts of Light for each other to enjoy along our path.  Each person, each situation, and each day offers us choices for happiness.  One of my favorite sayings is, “This may not be the cruise we signed up for, but it’s the ship we’re on”.

Don’t put off your happiness.   Don’t let your mind set up the roadblocks of waiting until you retire, until you finish your degree, until you pay off your mortgage, until your kids leave the house, until you lose ten pounds, or until the 12^th of never!!  Your happiness is NOW.  Find your joy in each situation, now matter where you find yourself. Seize each day with vigor.

What’s on your “bucket list”? Don’t let the timer run out on you.  If you find love and meaning in each day you will skid through the pearly gates, with a smile on your face and a song in your heart.

Here’s to your happiness.