Happiness is what you make it.....

Thanks to my friend A. for this video clip.  The presenter is Dan Gilbert, and the topic is: "Why are we happy? Why aren't we happy?" Gilbert is a psychology professor at Harvard, and author of "Stumbling on Happiness".  In this fascinating talk, Gilbert discusses revealing data from experiments on various students and amnesia patients how our brains choose happiness, no matter what happens to us. In other words, even if we don't get what we originally wanted, we decide eventually that what we ended up with was better anyway, and therefore we are happier.  This speaks to the spiritual doctrine that "trials" in life, given to us by God, are really better for us in the end because we learn and grow as a result of the stress.  I believe in this principle, simply because I've experienced it myself.  If it were possible (and it is not) for a person to live a life of complete ease and lack of problems, how would they possibly develop any character or depth to their soul?  So--back to square one: the idea that  we can choose to be happy.  This is sometimes difficult to accept when you are in the midst of a problem or challenge.  But eventually, you can get there if you stick it out.  My question is, how does one really find joy in the moment (even if the moment is uncomfortable, painful, sad, whatever).  I'm not sure that is possible.  And I do think some people, not wanting to "embrace" happiness in that moment, choose bitterness, lose their faith, go into denial, or flee the situation.  I think, to be happy, you can allow yourself an appropriate amount of time to grieve, be angry, sad, or whatever--and then move on and embrace what you have learned from the experience, eventually achieving a level of peace and resulting happiness.  But it is usually a long process, at least for me.