Most people live a large portion of their lives in an imaginary world. We either recall past events in our lives (and sometimes get stuck in those events, unable to move forward) or we live in an imaginary future which may never materialize. We retreat into imagination (movies, books etc.) to make ourselves happy in life. But we can never achieve true happiness that way.
Somebody once asked Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka , the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s wife, what was her happiest moment in life and she responded “This moment right now.” This is a very profound answer because it basically means that you must live in the present, make the most out of this moment and you appreciate it because this is what God wants you to experience at this time, so you are grateful and happy. You are not living in the past or in the future. You live in the present, enjoy the present, and appreciate the present. If we live in the past, we just bring up many negative emotions remembering situations we suffered; if we project our imagination to the future, we also often feel worried, scared and insecurem, even though we have no idea if our future will even look like that. The only “reality” is the present time: the moment right now. This is a powerful concept in Chassidus. Chassidus teaches that God is creating the world at every moment out of nothingness. He is creating you every moment with a particular mission to fulfill. If you understand that, how can you imagine that God has forgotten about you or does not care? Nothing in the world is random. Nothing in your life is random. Just concentrate on the moment. Do not think about anything else, just the moment and how you can best serve God at this very moment in time.
This connects to Adar because true happiness can only be achieved when we appreciate what we have, are humble and are able to see beyond the concealments and limitations of the world. But to do that we need to discard negative thoughts, worries, fears etc. Not living in the past, not fearing the future, and just living in the present helps very much to develop an inner happiness and contentment.
What if your present situation is difficult or not very happy? In that case, a person needs to still concentrate on the present moment, and how to improve it, learn from it, grow from it and appreciate the blessings one has, despite the hardships. The more we can bring ourselves to feel happy , the more we can also see greater happiness bestowed upon us from Above. As The talmud says “a happy person is always celebrating”. Someone with a happy heart is able to give more to others, do more, handle challenges better and so on. And when we truly are happy, Heaven smiles upon us too and reciprocates by giving us more blessings and more open revealed good. It is a win win situation!