Happy

This is the word my 2 year old daughter is repeating over and over again this morning.  And she is...happy...most of the time.  She experiences the normal struggles of power that come with being Two and wanting more control over her life.  But she is happy, you could say she CHOOSES happiness.  I do believe that in some respects we will have this opportunity.  No, we cannot control all that goes on around us, but we can choose how we react to it...we can choose to have a chip on our shoulder, we can choose to retreat from the world, we can choose to be happy (at least some of the time). 

I also believe happiness and contentment are closely related.  This does not mean that we need to accept things as they are all the time...it is good to be working towards bettering yourself, your circumstances, and your living conditions.  But again, I think you can choose contentment amidst these other changing things in your life.  Try repeating it out loud the first few times "I am content."  Let it spill into your parenting, your shopping, your work.

No, life it not so simple that this will suddenly make everything easy, but it is a puzzle piece to life, when it is in the right spot, the picture looks clearer.

How can you choose happiness today despite your circumstances? 
As a parent how does this one choice affect your family?
How do you model contentment to your family?