I have read dozens of books, blogs, and Oprah magazine articles on this subject; watched movies and documentaries addressing this theme; taken workshops at spiritual retreat centers to discover the meaning; and discussed this topic with most of my close friends and family members to share an opinion or two. What am I talking about?...of course, the meaning of happiness.
Sorry, this blog is not intended to define what happiness means. I wish I could. But according to Wikipedia, "Happiness is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources."
Yet how do we measure happiness? How would we react if there was some formula that could measure it? Would we be happier knowing where we are compared to others on the happy scale? Or be more competitive? But then who would we be measuring and comparing it too? I often think of the impoverished areas that I have visited around the world and what drives me to travel and serve others. For example, the villages that I recently visited for Cultural Embrace's HUG projects in Guatemala and South Africa are so poor with very little resources yet the people and children seem happier in comparison to a general community in the States.
Happiness means different things to different people. Some people are happy with consumed goods like cars, jewelry, homes, clothes, shoes, food, wine, etc; some people only need their family and loved ones; some embrace happiness through spirituality; some through activities (ie: sports, music, arts, traveling, etc). Do we need it all? A little bit? A lot?
I guess we should only grade our happiness within our own scale and terms. I am learning that I am happiest when I am obeying God’s direction. There are times that I slip up and make mistakes to think that God wants me to be ‘happy’ versus ‘obedient’. Yikes, it happens. It’s called being human. Y’know, those times when we rewrite the rules and think that God’s answering our prayers, and then realize…it’s actually an act of self-interest. No way?!...Not me!...Then who?
Like everything else in life, to obey and listen to God takes patience and practice…even God’s will. I wish it was as distinctive as hearing James Earl Jones’ voice in the Lion King; or having Morgan Freeman appear like in Bruce Almighty. But until I am able to tune out all the noise, distractions, and voices (especially my own), I will do my best to listen and obey God’s direction.
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