Recently we went adventuring. Here’s quick report of our recent travels.

Vacation 1:

The Stuart family recently went on a vacation. We chose to do a cruise. We sailed out of a dirty, nasty city and had to walk around the trash and the people passed out on the streets. Just getting to our room was a nightmare – the elevators were small and cramped and it took forever to get to our room. The hotel didn’t even have breakfast. My wife’s phone broke. The lines for checking in to the cruise were horrendous. Every night the ship turned into a scene of debauchery. We were sad, to say the least.

Vacation 2:

The Stuart family recently went on a vacation. We chose to do a cruise and sailed out of a city filled with a rich and interesting history. We ate dinner with some dear friends at a great Indian restaurant. There were fine restaurants nearby our hotel and we had an amazing breakfast. We were fortunate enough to find a place that could quickly repair my wife’s phone. The guest speaker for our group was amazing and we learned a great deal. We enjoyed the food and the chance to meet new friends. We spent the evenings sitting on our balcony, watching the lights go by along the shore. It was one of the best things we’ve ever done.

The previous paragraphs describe the same vacation. One describes misery, the other happiness. The overall quality of the experience we had depended on what we chose to emphasize. Fortunately, the second paragraph describes how we felt pretty well.

Life can be hard. There’s no sense in making it harder. When given a choice (and there is always a choice), choose happiness.