They're so happy, they don't know how miserable they are.

I really like "Fiddler on the Roof." I especially love the character, Tevye. He's a simple, poor milkman who always wanted an education, and while he never got that, he has wit and discernment to see through the problems and the changing world around him to what is essential (and has a host of great one-liners on the way). If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it, the movie is great. Also, minor spoiler alert: I'm going to tell you a little bit about the story below.

One great insight comes a few months after the marriage of his daughter, Tzeitel, to a poor man, Motel. Speaking of this young, poor couple Tevye says, "They work very hard, and they're as poor as squirrels in winter. But, they're so happy, they don't know how miserable they are."

I think there's a couple of lessons for us from Tevye and his daughter and son-in-law.

First off, there's something to be said for counting your blessings and being happy with where you are now. Motel and Tzeitel were very poor, but they were happy all the same. They just kept working hard, and it didn't matter that they were barely scraping by (if that). They were happy. Sometimes you can make a decision to see the blessings that you have now, and even beside your blessings, if you can't find any (let me assure you, though, they're there, you're always more blessed than you know), you can just choose to be happy. Put a smile on your face, laugh out loud, and be happy. I'm not saying it'll fix everything that's going wrong, but you are in control of your attitude, and it helps.

Second, take a chance on happiness even though you don't know the end. In the story, Motel, who was a tailor, originally hoped to save up enough money to buy a sewing machine before asking for Tzeitel's hand, in the hopes that he would be able to better provide for his family, because he would be able to do more and do a better job than working by hand. But in the end, he married Tzeitel before he could get a sewing machine, and as a result, they were as poor as his new father-in-law said. But they were as happy as Tevye observed, too.

The takeaway? Sometimes we wait to do things that will make us happy because of risk. The example from the movie is actually probably the most common one today. A lot of people are afraid to get married and have children until they're well on their way to their career, with perfect security for the future. They pass on being so happy that they don't even realize how miserable they are, and miss out on far better things than what they get, assuming they get anything at all out of waiting (studies seem about as conclusive as social sciences can be about married people tending to do better in other endeavors because of the loving support of a spouse). Wouldn't it be better to be so happy, you don't know how miserable you are?