The price
of Happines
Everybody wants health and happiness.
You don't have to engage
in scientific research to arrive at that conclusion; the recorded history of
humanity, as found in the writings of philosophers, theologians, physicians,
and politicians, demonstrates it abundantly. It's just another way of saying
that every individual born into this world naturally strives to pursue his or
her well-being.
Health is
no longer considered, at least by an increasing number of persons, as the mere
absence of diseases. It regarded today as the ability to experience, in varying
degrees, wellness or fitness of mind and body, ranging from passing to
excellent. The concept of happiness, too, has undergone revision down through
the cultures. To Aristotle it meant a state of beatitudes in which all of one`s
human yearnings were being simultaneously satisfied- hardly a condition to be
attained this of heaven. Now, it seems, when we wish people happiness, as at
New year`s, we mean to express a hope that their days be rich in peace and
enjoyment. Happiness, like health, is thought to be quantifiable; some folks
have more and others less, while being involved in a wide range of activities
aimed at possession of these two related pearls of great price
One would
think that life would be filled with happiness, day by day, for nearly
everyone, as long as they live in a land where their basic human needs are met
and their rights are not violated. It
could be argued that all people need to do to stay happy is to discover what
kinds of activities bring them enjoyment and then devote themselves to these,
avoiding insofar as possible those that they don`t find satisfying. But, obviously,
living is not easy. I normally say to myself that life is difficult. Even in
situations, places, families, countries incredibly blessed, perhaps the
majority of people at any given moment would admit that they are feeling less
than happy.
Spoilers
of happiness;
Many
individuals make it impossible for themselves to find happiness in the present
moment by choosing to focus their attention on the past. A loss,
disappointment, or failure that they would keep reviving in their thoughts and
imagination produces a feeling of depression. They are sad, down in the dumps,
and irritable because of what their hearts are filled with resentment over what
someone did to them, for they go on blaming that person unforgiving. Or else
they are making the present moment miserable for themselves by continuing to
blame themselves for something about which they feel guilty. Their depression,
resentful hostility, or guilt pangs are all kept alive by their mentally
dwelling in the past, a past that no longer exists. Enjoyment of the present
moment is being lost completely because they can`t stop fastening their
thinking on some unpleasant aspect of their past life.
Other
people keep focusing on the future and, as a result, deprive themselves of all
satisfaction with the present moment. They spoil it by worrying about what
might go wrong in days or years ahead. They feel anxiety and tension over the
things that could threaten their well-being, most of which not only do exist at
the present time but in fact never will.
A third
and enormous group of people have learned to spoil the present moment without
looking ahead or back; they just focus on what isn`t rather than on what is.
They want what does not exist, they want it right now, and they feel entitled
to it. Frustrated, they feel angry, and many of them blame others for their
unhappiness, lashing out at them in thought, word or deed in an emotional state
of hostility.
Will and
heart is required
Still, I
believe, it is one to decrease the emotional stress in one`s life but something
more to live life to the fullest. Wellness, in its totality, calls for a human
being to operate optimally as a complete person- physically and
physiologically, the emotionally, intellectually and volitionally. The price of
achieving lasting health and happiness demands the use of will and the
development of heart.
Happiness,
or joy, comes from looking at oneself, others, nature, events and God in a
certain way. It results- I observe in others` lives and experience in my own-
from looking for, finding, and cherishing what is good and beautiful in all
these. It entails accepting moment by moment, what is real, present, actual-
not lamenting what is missing or anticipating what can go wrong. It is by
giving this unrestricted acceptance to what and whom God in his providence
presents to us that we make it possible for ourselves to enjoy and love them in
the way they deserve. We can say that there is, in fact, goodness and beauty to
be found in every person on earth, in every bit of nature, and in every sort of
event, be it a rainbow, childbirth, or martyrdom. Happiness is finding and
loving the goodness and beauty of what is really there before us during all the
waking hours of our swiftly passing lives. It is the fruit of our using time
well.
The price
of a life of happiness is that of learning to use our will to direct our
thoughts constructively. At times, we ought to employ it to focus our
reflections on the past, but on the persons and events that were blessings that
should not be forgotten, that were given to us to live on in memories that can
evoke gratitude and love. At times, our will should direct our thought forward,
toward the foreseeable events and situations that lend hope and inspiration to
our present moments. However, most of the time the happy life is one searching
for the goodness in all that is present and real around us. The courage of the
sufferer experiencing pain, the humility of the beggar, the image of God in the
nagging child, the opportunity for personal growth that is concealed within a
failure- such facets of reality can generally be found, esteemed, and cherished
even in the worst of human situations, even in a scourging and a crucifixion.
I have a simple story;
Most people, it appears, have not learned to
habitually use their will and intellect to look for and find what is good and
valuable within the situations that enfold them. I had a reason to conclude
this in my recently experience while flying to Spain a cross many countries,
rivers lakes and mountains on a very long and relatively slow flight. A 260
mile-per-hour headwind was hitting us right on the nose of our Boeing 747, adding
more an hour to our flight time, the pilot explained. I found myself thinking
then about what a marvel the 747 is, a greater silver bird capable of carrying
a tribe of humans from continent to continent is a less than a single day,
about a marvelous it is to have hot meals served seven miles aloft in the sky,
about how courteous the flight attendants usually are, about the flight control
operators, mechanics, and baggage handlers on the ground, about the designers
and builders of the fuselage and engines and about the contributions all these
make our well-being. Looking at the widow at the scattered clouds and deep
waters below, and at the bright sun and blue sky above, I wondered!
But while I was enjoying the opportunity to think such
thoughts, I began to notice the conversations of passengers around me. They were
growing increasingly restless and were irritated by the length of the flight. A
few were annoyed because- they repeatedly complained- they couldn’t find on the
board a copy of their favorite magazine, the Times. Others were un joyfully
recalling days of faster service in the cabins other airlines. Many kept
worrying out loud about the possibility of missing their connections with other
flights. All these people were choosing to make their flight miserable by the
way, they kept thinking about the experience. I wondered who would ever teach
them not to spoil time, but to learn to make the most of it- acceptingly,
lovingly and enjoyably.
Experts on use of time;
The
contemplative saints have left us in their writings a treasury of guidelines
about ways of using time well with health and happiness as side effects. Their
habit of seeking to find God in all things, with the help of his grace, made it
possible for such wonderfully developed human beings, to recognize all persons,
places and happenings as revealing the presence of the creator. They saw God
both giving these existences and cooperating from moment to moment in every
change or bit of growth that occur. They learned to perceive God lovingly at
work in the entire history of every nation, tribe, crop, community and
individual life. they found God`s goodness and beauty disclosed in every sort
of being, from a butterfly or rose to a singer or a street cleaner. He was
recognized by them and loved constantly in all his infinite manifestations- the
realities that surrounded these happy and holy people.
If the
saints deliberately learned to be contemplatives, not just in times of formal
prayers but during all the ordinary activities of their everyday lives, so can
we. God is waiting to be seen and loved in every moment and everywhere. But it
takes a will to use our mind and heart to fasten our attention unto present
reality until we find him there.
Not
everyone can choose to think so positively about the past, present and the
future. Some people are emotionally ill and thus lack freedom to direct their
thoughts and feelings toward whatever is good or beautiful in the world around
them. They require deserve the help to liberate their minds and hearts.
Most of
us, on the other hand, can grow to be healthier and happier than we are. The
price, again, is to invest heavily and continuously in using our minds in such a
way that we spend our time loving and enjoying, as much we can, all that God
gives to us, and him as the giver behind each gift. I believe that maintaining
a grateful heart is the ultimate secret of achieving health and happiness. It
engenders love, peace and joy, and these are the hallmarks of total wellness.
