If you see happiness as a never ending party filled with constant pleasures, then my life doesn't measure up to this thrill seeking, Sundae gorging, possession amassing definition.
Look around, do you see people who achieve "happiness" when they finally get the right number of the right things? No, they are miserably complaining about what they don't have, buying closet organizers, and renting storage space so they will have a place to stuff all their things.
Let's look at the well-known "celebrities", the "rich and famous" , and those with political and financial power. What a happy bunch they are! Their lives are often strewn with the remains of broken marriages, broken families, broken health, and broken ideals. Their money can buy them beautiful things, good medical treatment, the right to boss others around, and a painted on smile, but it can't buy them happiness.
How about the people who put their time and resources into being beautiful? Have you ever seen an aging "Beauty Queen"? Scary! They are desperately trying to hang onto their youth believing that their value, even their being loved, is all dependent on having a beautiful body. So sad!
What about those who seek adventure? I once knew a well known, but older, cliff climber. He was asking for contributions to support the families of other cliff climbers. He stated that he knew that it was only a matter of time before he fell to his death as all the other climbers he began his climbing career with had already done. Though he felt sorry that he would leave his family, he declared that he had to climb!
Like me, you have probably seen a lot of people pursuing a course they think will bring them lasting happiness. At first, they seem to really be enjoying themselves. Their life certainly looks fun, but when you see someone who has followed that path into old age (if they make it that far), they seem sad and empty.
So how can you find happiness? You can't! It isn't something you can grab like a prize and possess. Rushing from one experience to another with not help you find happiness. The more you are selfishly focused on "your happiness" the less chance you will have of finding it.
Happiness is something you find as you become a person of integrity who spends his life loving and serving others. This lasting happiness will not only give you the strength to deal with whatever you have to face in life, but it will bring you peace and joy.
You become happy when you choose the good, when you make good decisions, when you appreciate what you already have, when you have a positive attitude, when you have a sense of living a meaningful life, when you choose long term good over momentary pleasures, when you build positive relationships, and when you devote your time and talents to serving others instead of selfish pursuits. As the well-known Holocaust surviver and psychiatrist, Viktor Frankl, explained happiness is the “side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself."*
*Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (1984), 17.
No comments:
Post a Comment