Why Are We Unhappy?

Tonight I gave a talk about "Why Are We Unhappy? Understanding and Dealing with Emotions." Do you know our unhappiness often have something to do with our expectation?

For example, about two months ago, someone was referred to me by a seminary. She asked, "we are looking for a professional to lead a workshop on emotions ... We usually meet on the 4th Saturday of the month, but we can accomodate your schedule."

I was quite happy to find out that I was free on October 27th. We picked the title and the organizer was designing the flyer to invite people when something else came up. Normally, my policy is first-come-first-serve; however, this time it involved my church. I was frustrated. Even though it was not something I absolutely had to attend, I still preferred to support my husband. Underneath the frustration, I was disappointed that I could not be at two places at the same time. If I knew, I would not promise to talk on that day. But it soon came to me that if I did that, I would never schedule anything. Interestingly, I had a false sense of guilt of not being able to anticipate the unknown!

Thank God that my husband understood my dilemma and was supportive. Calming down, I remembered that in the beginning, they did say they would accomodate me because it was an internal event. It would not hurt to ask.

I sent out an e-mail inquiring whether it was possible to move the talk ahead for one week and I waited for their response. By now I was okay with whatever the outcome instead of feeling anxious like I used to. The worst is for them to say no, at least I prayed and I took action to clarify my own desire. I was not afraid to take the risk.

"Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." (Psalm 5:2-3)

The group was very gracious. They also invited another fellowship to join them. The end result? There were more people than they originally expected. The workshop went extremely well, and we are all happy and grateful for that.