This morning I was reading a post from Ben Arment on “Three Kinds of Jobs” and it got me thinking of happiness and what really matters in life; It was a great mind food post.
hap·pi·ness [ ˈha-pē-nəs ] 1: obsolete : good fortune : prosperity
2a: a state of well-being and contentment : joy b: a pleasurable or satisfying experience
3: felicity, aptness
Is happiness something we should seek? Should it be our goal to be happy? Surely there can’t be anything wrong with that. After all, the pursuit of happiness is encouraged in the Declaration of Independence along with life and liberty. But have you ever known a happy person whose sole purpose was to be happy? I haven’t.
John Berry wrote, “The bird of paradise alights only on the hand that does not grasp.” I am convinced that if we make an effort to try to make ourselves happy, we’re going to be disappointed. But, if our focus is on bringing happiness to others, we can achieve happiness that defies description. I think Mark Twain said it best, “the best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.”
I really enjoyed that post of Ben's as well. Got me thinking too. ____Personally, I think happiness and joy are two very different things. When I hear the word happiness I think of a sunny day, bright music, a timely compliment. These are wonderful but pass very quickly. Joy, on the other hand, goes deeper than the moment. It is rooted in a perspective that comes from the love that rescued me from myself. The hard part for me is remembering to focus on joy when happiness seems to be in short supply.