The Anatomy of Happiness

Happiness is defined as the state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy (via WordWeb).

I was browsing through Ashrie's latest photos and I noticed the various levels of smiles she has, depending on the activity she’s doing. Her smiles reminded me to think on how blessed we really are to have her as a daughter.  And leads me to ponder on what truly makes us happy.

We always want her to be happy. It is our deepest joy to see her laughing and in good health. We like to see her in her happiest moods, may it be during Tickle Time, when she’s humming a tune while playing, or when she’s dancing like a ballerina!

But you see, it’s so easy to be happy when everything’s sunny and all things are going as planned. It’s difficult to even smile when everything seems gloomy and out of hand. That’s natural, even toddlers do that.

So as parents (or as adults) we ought to know better.

We should remember that material things would not truly make us happy. We will never stop wanting things. We will always want a better one or more of what we have right now. This is an endless and a tiring cycle, a vanity. 

Wealth is just one of the many things that we thought would make us happy, but won’t. Other things include fame, beauty, intelligence, power, and many more. These would just lead us to frustrations and further loneliness...

My say: “Do not look for happiness in all the wrong places. Better yet, do not always seek to be happy.  Instead, desire to be contented. Count your blessings. And rest your future in our Creator. This doesn’t mean that we live a life of slackness; rather we must live a life of faith, hope, and love.”

And what would make us really happy (besides family, friends, and other tangible things)? To be truly happy, one must be in the center of God’s perfect will.

To end, I will quote the Apostle Paul from his epistle to the Philippians: I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. Philippians 4:12-13 (The Message)

Be blessed…