I get a lot of wonderful and inspirational emails and messages, almost all with a note at the bottom urging me to "pass it on." And I do, sometimes via the Internet (i.e., Facebook), sometimes here in my column, like today. I enjoy passing on good thoughts whenever and however I can.

I don't know who the author of this piece is (hate when that happens – I love to give credit where credit is due), but someone smart wrote it, that's for sure. It's called "Happiness on Hold," but you'll soon see that it speaks more about NOT putting happiness on hold – a message which I think is especially important these days.

Happiness on Hold

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with – we will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, or we are able to go on a nice vacation, or when we retire.

The truth is there's no better time to be happy than right now!

If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. Happiness is the way.

So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special enough to spend your time with...and remember that time waits for no one.

So, stop waiting....

– until your car or home is paid off,

– until you get a new car or home,

– until your kids leave the house,

– until you go back to school,

– until you finish school,

– until you lose 10 lbs.,

– until you gain 10 lbs.,

– until you get married,

– until you get a divorce,

– until you have kids,

– until you retire,

– until summer,

– until spring,

– until winter,

– until fall,

– until you die.

There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

I like these words a lot, and the messages they convey.

I think it's especially important for us to remember that while these days can be rather dark and scary, and we don't really know what will happen next with anything or anyone else, there is still no good excuse for putting happiness on hold.

As always, we have a choice to make. We can choose happiness today, or we can choose sorrow and fear or something else to put our happiness on hold.

As for me, I'm choosing to laugh whenever I can, to sing along with the radio whether I know the words or not, to enjoy and embrace every moment I have, to dance whether there's any music or not, to smile at strangers and to hug everyone I love whenever I get the chance.

In other words, no matter what, I'm choosing to go ahead and be happy.

© Marilda Mel White. Mel is a local writer/photographer and co-owner of Tehachapi Treasure Trove, who has been looking on the bright side for various publications since 1996. She welcomes your comments at morningland@msn.com.