Happiness is a choice. Many people seem to think that the pursuit of happiness is an external process. While there are external things and situations we want, achieving and acquiring them generates a limited burst of good thoughts and feelings. This is because the TRUE pursuit of happiness is an internal process that occurs in each conscious moment. If I CHOOSE to think happy thoughts, focus on gratitude, and radiate a pleasant nature, I find I feel happy in that moment. When something happens in the external world that I don’t want and I experience loss or pain or other unpleasant feelings, I can be distracted away from my pursuit of happiness. In those moments, I may forget that the pursuit of happiness is always MY choice. Over time, I have found that the best I can do to ensure I remember my pursuit of happiness in the face of difficulties is to PRACTICE pursuing happiness as often as possible. My experience has been that the practice strengthens my ability to see the silver lining in gray cloud moments, to return to my pursuit much more quickly when distracted from it. Practice does not make “perfect”. Practice makes each moment of the practice a moment of perfect happiness.