Happiness

I like to think that I'm a generally happy person. I try to be optimistic in most situations and usually do a pretty good job of it. At the same time, I like other people to be happy too. I want them to have the same optimism in hard situations and try and find a positive in even the worst things. I guess that comes from my own experiences and feeling the need to be strong for everyone else. I always have this mindset that if everyone else sees you happy in the hard times, then they'll be able to be happy too.

Lately, I've realized that not everyone has the same mindset as me. How do you make someone else happy and tell them to be optimistic when they just can't? And even more than that, how do you make someone else happy when you're part of the reason they are losing hope? I wish I could just fix everything. I want to make everything okay. I want to let them know that they're not alone and that they do mean something to someone. How do I not feel guilty for making someone else unhappy when ultimately the thing I want is for them to be happy and find hope in something? I keep hearing that it's not my fault, but I don't believe that. I even feel guilty for being happy when they aren't. I don't know what to do or how to fix it. It's not a burden that I'm not willing to carry because I do want what's best. I'm not just gonna give up and hope the best for them. That wouldn't be like me. I just want them to find hope in something and happiness in things.

One of my favorite verses on perseverance...Romans 5:3-5:

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."