An Inspirational Message for December 2025 – By Charles Schokman

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Happiness is such a prevalent and vast concept, varying from person to person, having different meanings for different people. Most of us see happiness dictated by our circumstances, but in reality, happiness depends on the choices you make.
According to research, real happiness comes from within us. You need to look within yourself and know what makes you happy. People spend their lives chasing material possessions but eventually, they realize that these pursuits never lead to happiness.
Happiness depends on how you feel about yourself. It’s about putting yourself first and prioritizing the things that make you feel happy. Apart from big events, little joys on regular days are so important. Like coffee with a loved one, putting in a call with a close friend, playing with a toddler or it could be anything you love doing. Small moments in our routine life play a huge role in our happiness.
Happiness never comes from the outside. Most of us think of it as a byproduct of circumstances but actually, it’s not. We have to extract happiness from situations. Every one of us has noticed, some days big achievements don’t make us happy and some days just a smile, a sunset or walking alone can make you happy. It’s all about how you choose to feel about something. Nothing can make you feel low if you choose happiness.
You must have heard, Humans crave catharsis. Having good relations with family, friends or spouse helps. The feeling of being listened to, and understood, is therapeutic. Having some people with whom you have a close bonding where you feel yourself and protected is much more important than many people you’re simply in contact with.
Your happiness is your responsibility. Expecting other people to make you happy never really helps. The more you rely on people the more you get hurt. We have to take responsibility for our happiness and try to be the best possible version of ourselves for the sake of our happiness. Courtesy of Noor Jehan
“Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time”
This story about a 92 year-old woman has been shared over 200k times.
When you read it I think you’ll understand why.
It all has to do with her attitude.
Here’s what Alex Steblowsky wrote about Peggy Jones:
This petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coiffed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home yesterday.
Her husband of 70 years recently passed away,
making the move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window.
“I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room …. just wait.”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.”
“Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged, it’s how I arrange my mind.
I already decided to love it.
It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up.”
“I have a choice;
I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.”
“Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life.”
She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from what you’ve put in.
So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories.”
And with a smile, she said:
Remember the five simple rules to be happy.
- Free your heart from hatred.
- Free your mind from worries.
- Live simply.
- Give more.
- Expect less, & enjoy every moment.
Hope this song will cheer you up.
You are welcome to pass this on.



