Jack and his long-time friend Bob worked in the same office, so they often used to go walking together, after sitting for hours at a desk. One weekend they decided to spend the weekend on a walking holiday in the Lake District, so they loaded up their car and headed north. After driving for a few hours they got caught up in a terrible blizzard, so as they passed through a small village that spotted a large farmhouse on the edge of the village. They knocked on the door and asked the attractive lady who answered if they could shelter there for the night. She said, "I realise its terrible weather out there and I have this huge house all to myself, but I'm recently widowed and I'm afraid that the neighbours will start to talk if I let you both stay in my house for the night." "Don't worry," said Jack, "We'll be quite happy to spend the night in your barn, at least it's warm and dry and if the weather improves we'll be gone at first light." The lady readily agreed and the two men found their way to the barn and settled in for the night. The next morning the weather had cleared and so they headed on to the Lakes and had an enjoyable weekend walking and exploring the area.

Six months later Jack received an unexpected letter from a solicitor, so he arranged to meet Bob at their local pub for a drink and once settled with their pints he brought up the subject of their walking holiday. He asked Bob, "Do you remember that good looking widow from the farm we stayed at about six months ago?" "Of course I do," said Bob. "Well did you happen to pay her a visit in the middle of the night?" "Well yes, I have to admit that I did," said Bob." "And did you happen to give her my name and not yours?" Bob's face turned bright red as he said, "Yes I'm sorry about that, I just didn't want anyone finding out." Jack said, "I've just received a letter from her solicitor," Good heavens, she's not pregnant is she?" asked a shocked Bob. "No," said Jack, "She's not pregnant, her solicitor wrote to inform me that she has died and left me everything in her will."

Happiness in life, is a conscious choice and not an automatic response to the problems we face.