IS HAPPINESS A CHOICE?

This may come across as confusing and controversial, but stay with me. Let's unpack my thoughts here. Greek methodologist Aeschylus said that Happiness is a choice, and that makes me wonder WTF he was talking about. I come from a Country that is plagued with poverty; the villages are as poor as can get, children unclothed, unfed, sick, and without clean water and safety. Diseases like dysentery and cholera are pretty standard. I fortunately didn't experience that level of extreme poverty, although I do remember not having a meal for weeks as a child. We'd eat boiled corn or whatever we could find on that day. Hunger is freaking crazy; feeling hungry without a means to feed yourself, especially as a child, is the worst thing I've ever experienced.
I sometimes stole to eat, which partly built a hustling spirit from a very young age, and as a mother now, my one most significant fear is not being able to afford for my babies. So, let's dive into the concept of Happiness as a choice and what I now believe. As a 34-year-old adult woman who has experienced Hunger as a child, grief, betrayal, divorce, and became the only provider for my kids, I can now understand why I chose to get here. Back in 2021, when my ex and I were going through the worst separation alongside all the pregnancy hormones, and just a few months after my very traumatizing miscarriage, no part of me understood the validity of Happiness being a choice. It wasn't enjoyable to hear. But didn't I choose to be sad and stay in my bed crying for hours? Or did I have no control over how the news of being divorced triggered my Flight or fright? I'm not here to discard intense trauma and significant pain like the pain of losing a sibling or a baby, but I'm here to say that if a Nazi slave in a concentration camp on the verge of being executed chooses to smile and be happy (that actually happened in a concentration camp in Germany) and when asked by the guards about to kill him why he looked so relaxed, he said Happiness is a choice, then wtf are we doing? Listen, take time to grieve, cry, hurt, and scream, but you're not allowed to stay in your unhappiness. Let it pass, choose to do things that make you feel good, accomplished, successful, and meaningful. So, this month of April, I chose Happiness. I decided not to dwell in pain, not make my loved ones feel sad, and to take a leap in my career.

Today's Mantra: I am happy, I have Happiness, I deserve Happiness, and I refuse to be unhappy.