My Happiness is Still No Accident (Even Now)
Finding Joy in Turbulent Times Is Intentional
Two years ago, I wrote that my midlife happiness was no accident. It remains one of my most popular Substack posts. I meant it then. I mean it even more today. There’s a link to the post at the end.
The world is louder in 2026. Conversations feel sharper. Many of us carry a quiet heaviness—about our country, our communities, and the people we love. Even those of us who choose not to engage in debates can feel the tension humming beneath ordinary days.
It doesn’t take much to feel it. A few minutes of television news. A scroll through social media. What used to be an ordinary conversation, suddenly isn’t so ordinary. The images and words can linger long after the screen goes dark. I find myself watching less television than I once did—not out of denial, but by design.
I’m not participating in forced cheerfulness. I am not pretending everything is fine. And, I am certainly not in denial of storms brewing around me. Everyday I make a decision about the joyful spirit I am going bring to that day.
Two years ago, I shared a simple three-step roadmap that guides my days: begin with gratitude, choose my responses carefully, and find reasons to smile. That framework still anchors me.
But in 2026, I would add one more element.
4. Guard Your Inner Climate.
When the outer climate feels like a tornado or blizzard, managing my inner climate is even more important. Not forced cheerfulness. Not pretending everything is fine. But a steady decision about how I am going to approach each day.
I cannot control the temperature of national conversations. But I can decide what I repeatedly expose myself to on television, social media, and the Substacks I follow.
Guarding my inner climate doesn’t mean ignoring the news or withdrawing from the world. It means engaging with intention, so I am listening for and learning the truth. And, I have the time and research background to fact-check and substantiate the avalanche of news swirling around me.
Staying informed without succumbing to constant outrage, is important, knowing it would damage my health. Caring deeply and doing as much as I can personally is one way to weather the torrential storm of news. Understanding the limits of my focus and impact is also important.
I have learned, that maintaining my inner peace is not passivity. It is discipline.
I don’t know what the next months or years will bring. None of us do.
But I do know this: the quality of my days will not be determined solely by the world around me.
Joy, for me, is an act of intention. It is my quiet resistance to despair.
And yet, I still believe happiness is not something that simply happens to us. It is something we cultivate like a garden. My happiness is still no accident. Even now.
Link to April 2024 post:
I'm with you, Brenda. There's so much beauty and goodness in this world today, despite turmoil around us. I choose to see and savor that. It feeds my soul and helps me deal more wisely and kindly with what disturbs and angers.
Loved this article and its predecessor so much I forwarded it to several people. It was a great reminder that we are responsible for how we respond to the world around us. We have the power to make the world a better place.