Happiness

We are asked to be happy at all circumstances of our lives. According to Wikipedia, happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. According to Merriam Webster, happiness is a state of well-being and contentment. The synonym for happiness is “joy” which is a pleasurable or satisfying experience.

But for me happiness is generic, and is applied to almost every kind of enjoyment. I am happy listening to spiritual music, reading the Bible or while teaching in my Confirmation class. Its written somewhere that happiness often sneaks in through a door we didn’t know we left open. Ayn Rand Lexicon says that neither life nor happiness can be achieved by the pursuit of irrational whims.

I really like what I found on tumblr.com. it’s actually “7 Steps to Happiness” but I found only five and here they are:
1. Fear less, love more.
2. Frown less, smile more.
3. Talk less, listen more.
4. Judge less, accept more.
5. Complain less, appreciate more.

Beautiful!

But here’s something really fantastic I found on happiness which I didn’t even know existed. “Track Your Happiness.org” is a new scientific research project that investigates what makes life worth living. The website says: “Using this site, you’ll be able to track your happiness and find out what factors – for you personally – are associated with greater happiness. You’ll also contribute to our scientific understanding of happiness”.

There’s another something beautiful that I found on poetry foundation – it says: “There’s just no accounting for happiness, / or the way it turns up like a prodigal / who comes back to the dust at your feet / having squandered a fortune far away”. Yeah I know it’s about the Prodigal Son and indeed so beautiful and thought-provoking.

So I did some more research on happiness and I am happy to come across so many Biblical quotes on happiness. I am listing down few of them but something I truly believe in is this: Psalm 22:10 – On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Since I am big time fan of Saint Paul, I will adhere to what he wrote in Philippians 2:12-13 – “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure”.

And here’s what I will actually aspire for as written in 1 Corinthians 13:4 – “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant”.

Because “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” – (John 13:17)

Last but not the least, Job 36:11 says: “If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment”.

Amen!!!