Dear Friend,
Many of us (or even- most of us?) seem to organize our lives according to pursuit of happiness. Some of us feel we usually succeed, whilst for others it’s just the opposite.
There are opinions that try as hard as we may, we cannot “escape ourselves”- for our level of contentment is shaped by our nature, and not by external conditions.
“Happiness is inward, and not outward; and so, it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are”.
-Henry Van Dyke (19th century American diplomat and a clergyman)
“I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition”.
-Martha Washington (18-19th century American humanitarian and wife of the Founding Father)
If you are one of those folk who are usually happy , will you be surprised to learn that this is not necessarily “the best thing”..? For some great minds seem to be certain that if you haven’t received your dose of suffering, you might be lacking in some important way:
“The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction”.
-Charles Spurgeon (19th century English clergyman)
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you”.
– Rumi (13th century Persian poet)
“I began to understand that suffering and disappointments and melancholy are there not to vex us or cheapen us or deprive us of our dignity but to mature and transfigure us”.
-Hermann Hesse ( 19-20th century German- Swiss novelist)
But “why”, you might ask, my curious reader, what is the logical link between the suffering and wisdom? Apparently, it makes us contain our otherwise indomitable will:
“Wisdom comes through suffering.
Trouble, with its memories of pain,
Drips in our hearts as we try to sleep,
So men against their will
Learn to practice moderation”.
-Aeschylus (Ancient Greek poet)
However, if you still want to try and attain happiness, what are you best off doing?
It seems that aiming towards the greater good is the right thing :
“True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new”.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery (20th century French author and aviator)
And focusing on your loved ones apparently makes more sense.
“Happiness grows at our own firesides, and is not to be picked in strangers’ gardens”.
– Douglas William Jerrold (19th century English writer)
But don’t underestimate how hard it might be:
“Our most bitter enemies are our own kith and kin”.
-Honore de Balzac (18-19th century French novelist)
Whether you choose to focus on helping your loved ones, or the others, you might lack happiness if you don’t know when to stop:
“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will”.
– Epictetus (Ancient Greek philosopher)
And in all our endeavours, hoping for the best outcome should be our aim:
“You might not always get what you want, but you always get what you expect”.
-Charles Spurgeon (19th century English preacher)