Much to my frustration, within minutes he was back out like Braveheart on a freedom quest. Once again, I pulled over, swatted his behind, delivered the necessary speech, buckling him back into his now-tightened car seat…this time with a bit more sternness, in hopes he would understand the seriousness of the situation. His continued smile didn’t give me much hope. 
But before I could pat myself on the back, I looked in the rear-view mirror only to see that Houdini had outdone himself, and was again freely roaming the backseat. That was IT! I stormed out of the car, threw his door open and angrily swatted his bottom, once again. The lecture was louder, and the car seat was adjusted to “Defcon Straitjack”.
Just as I was beginning to wonder where my parenting manual was, my sweet Carson pulled me close and, with an unphased-smile, gave me a heart-melting hug exclaiming, “I love you!”, topping it off with a kiss.

My friends, happiness is a choice.
 
For many years, happiness was elusive to me. It seemed to depend on outward circumstances: were the people I loved happy with me? Did I look the right way? Was I accepted? Did I get what I wanted? When I wasn’t happy, the only way I knew to deal with that disappointment was by turning to food for distraction and maybe a little bit of sugar-induced sweetness.
I have come to learn that distractions do not equal happiness, and that true, internal happiness is not conditioned upon what happens to us, but rather what happens within us.
Jim Rohn shares that happiness is something we must weave. If we want to have a happy day we must weave it strand upon strand. If we want a happy career we will have to carefully weave that career with the fabric that happiness is made of. Happy marriages…happy families…happy hearts…are all products of carefully woven choices that can be learned. Just as we can learn the skills of financial success, so can we learn the skills of weaving a happy life.
For a born Eeyore like me, this idea was revolutionary! To realize that I could be happy just like little Carson…even when those I love are angry with my choices, cause me pain, or put a straitjacket on my freedom, I can choose to love, I can choose to be happy.
It’s time to stop looking outside of ourselves for sources of joy and peace. It’s time to start taking a look inside of our own hearts and minds, and make the daily choice to weave happiness. 

I waited and waited for the water to turn hot so that I could rinse off the face wash of my nightly routine. It didn’t take long to realize that something was wrong and I resigned myself to the rude awakening of the still-chilly substance coming out of the tap.
“Honey…,” I yelled, “the water heater is busted again.” Confused, he came in the bathroom and turned on the hot-water faucet. Immediately steam began to gather on the mirror. Questioning glances were quickly followed by belly laughs as I realized I had turned on the cold faucet, but expected hot water. What can I say? The blonde on my head is real.
How many times have you been convinced that something in your life is broken? We say things to ourselves like, “I don’t have what it takes,” “I’ll never be able to do that,” or “it just doesn’t work for me.” But the truth is, true principles are always true principles, and if you follow them, the results will come.
In the Doctrine and Covenants we read that “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” If you step off of a cliff, the law of gravity will let you fly…for a moment…until you come to a painful and abrupt stop. If you get in a properly functioning plane, the law of gravity and lift will allow you to fly around the world, and the only pain you are likely to feel will come from the endless reruns of The Prince of Bel Air.

​The Diving Bell Spider is the only species of spider to live almost entirely underwater. Though it is not amphibious, it rests, mates, catches and eats its prey, lays eggs and winters all under water.
How can it do this if it still needs to oxygen to live? Simple…ok…simple for her. She surfaces only long enough to trap oxygen in the fine hairs of her abdomen, and then stores that oxygen in an intricate silk web underwater. Each trip to the surface replenishes her supply and adds to her collection. In this self-made home-sweet-home, the Diving Bell Spider has learned to adapt to an environment normally hostile to survival to one such as her, but Bell…my hero…has found her own unique way.
In the quest to find peace from destructive behaviors and beliefs, there are naysayers everywhere. People come out of the woodwork to crush your dreams, or share their own stories of failure, as if you should “not get your hopes up too high.” We hear statistics on the number of people with eating disorders, failed business attempts, divorces, and relapses. It’s enough to make you tear down your web before you even start to weave it.
But Bell doesn’t listen to the killjoys of the surface. Instead, she makes her home in the depths of the impossible, where the neighbors are distant, the water is clean, and the fishing is fantastic.
I’ll be the first to admit that when I run up against obstacles, my first thoughts tend to resemble more of  the “I can’t” model. But, like my friend Bell, I’m here to tell you that it is possible to challenge those thoughts and turn them into powerful considerations of “how can I?”
We can fill our bubble with life-promoting oxygen, like spiritual strength, good people, and true principles, that will keep us going regardless of how threatening our surroundings may be. And, just like Bell, we must replenish those supplies continually…never assuming that we’ve arrived in some super-bubble state that will protect us for life. Thank you, Bell, for reminding me that we can live a life of success and significance, and that peace, like oxygen, must be cultivated and sought after, one breath at a time.