is a beggar.

"For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have...And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name...And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy" (Mosiah 4: 19-20)

I just wanted to post one simple thought I had today. It is about happiness. I know that there are many who could come up with many exceptions to what I am about to say, but I believe whole-heartedly that the pillars of happiness are: 1. acceptance and 2. gratitude.

Acceptance because it is imperative to first accept your life in order to love it. No matter what the circumstances are, they are what have been given to you. It is like a metaphor I read in a book by Sue Bender called Everyday Sacred, you hold your life in your hands like a beggar holding a bowl and must be content with what is placed in it. You may reject it, but if you accept it, you must recognize what you have been given. And it is always "enough," as Sue says.

Gratitude because it is the mindset of receiving rather than taking. If a person goes about their life noticing what is missing from it instead of noticing all the good things around them, they neglect gratitude and thus suffer from it by constantly feeling disappointed, neglected, and unhappy.

Happiness is a choice. I know that every day I have this choice before me. Will I choose to be happy because I can hear birds in the trees as I walk to school? Or will I choose to be unhappy because I didn't get all my homework done and my hair is unwashed? Will I choose to see the good around me? Will I reach out with the goodness that I feel inside of myself and share it with others?

"And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another" (Mosiah 4: 21).

My happiness is greatly multiplied when I can share it with someone else. I know that one of the best remedies for a bout of discouragement is to serve someone else.

Here are some things that have been placed in my beggar's bowl lately:

1. A new job
2. More debt
3. A letter
4. Phone calls from my family
5. Rainy or snowy, cold weather
6. Plenty of homework
7. The messages from General Conference
8. A math test
9. A free movie
10. Dinner with friends
11. Meeting new friends
12. Fatigue and stress

Not all of these things are positive, but I accept them all. I see that as a whole, my life is good. It is enough and I am filled. I recently got a letter from my missionary in which he said, "I hope that you find the joy you need in your life-not just with each letter you receive from me, but also in those you serve and the things you are accomplishing." I do have joy in my life. I am learning to accept it and be grateful for all the things that come into it. I pray that you may feel the same and have joy.