With news about the recession, wars, gun & knife crime, world poverty, hunger, court cases, home repossessions, immigration matters, broken marriages etc; with all these things staring us almost at every turn and twist, there is undeniably among many, an aura of hopelessness, uncertainty, apathy, fear, resentment, selfishness and to make matters worse, Love seems to be flying off the windows and doors of many households, companies and organisations.
In the midst of all these social, ethical and personal quagmires', is it possible to really be HAPPY? what is HAPPINESS anyway?
Well...,
When it is all said and done, when everything is clean & dusted, at the end of the day, your HAPPINESS is your own, your troubles are your own, to be HAPPY or burdened - depends on you!....
Those words set the tone for what the rest of this post reveals.
Dr. John A. Schindler once defined happiness as "A state of the mind in which our thinking is pleasant most of the time".
Oh, how true...
Maxwell Maltz in His book; Psycho cybernetics, said "Happiness is native to the human mind and its physical machine. We think better, perform better, feel better, and are healthier when we are happy. Even our physical sense organs work better.
...Margaret Corbart has found that memory is greatly improved, and the mind is relaxed, when the subject is thinking pleasant thoughts. Psychosomatic medicine has proved that our stomachs, liver, heart, and all our internal organs function better when we are happy.
Thousands of years ago, wise king Solomon said in his Proverbs: 'A merry heart doeth good like medicine, but a broken spirit drieth up the bones'
....Havard psychologists studied the correlation between happiness and criminality and concluded that the old Dutch proverb, 'Happy people are never wicked,' was scientifically true. They found that a majority of criminals came from unhappy homes, had history of unhappy human relationships.
A ten year study of frustration at Yale University brought out that much of what we call immorality and hostility to others is brought about by our own unhappiness.
....A recent survey showed that by and large, optimistic cheerful business men who looked on the bright side of things were more successful than pessimistic businessmen.
....It appears that in our popular thinking about happiness we have managed to get the cart before the horse. 'Be kind and loving to other people and you will be happy.' ' I would be happy,' we say to ourselves, 'if I could be successful and healthy.'
It might be nearer the truth if we said, 'Be happy - and you will be good, more successful, healthier, feel and act more charitably towards others.' "
In reading this passage I not only see this as the best advice I can give myself, but everyone I come into contact with at church, cell group, work, socials.
So many people wonder why for example people like President Barack Obama are always so calm, cool and collected. Many wonder how he is able to speak before crowds in a non- chalant, totally relaxed way and still have everyone totally riveted.
I believe it is because he has no thoughts of resistance when he speaks. He is not concerned about offending anyone. He is not even trying to get people to like him, He is simply HIM, take it or leave it.
Very few people are this way. Most are trying to figure out how to get others to approve of them or like them. Not a good strategy because the more you NEED others to like you the less they will like you and you start developing feelings of unworthiness and self pity. Not good, not at all.
Same goes with money. The more you NEED it - the more it will stay away from you. Money and friends go where they are wanted - not where they are NEEDED. There is a world of difference between want and need. One attracts. The other repels.
Never NEED anything.
Want comes from a feeling of "I'm happy already and I'd like to have this, too." Need comes from a feeling of "I'm miserable and frustrated and I need this thing to make me HAPPY."
Most of us have been taught to set goals, to have a burning desire - be pumped up!, to be optimistic and have a positive attitude.
That is all good and should be encouraged, however, what do you do when you look at your bank statement, or your finances and you immediately begin to feel bad and agitated? What do you do when the perceived reality of your situation begins ruining your day? What do you do when you feel frustrated, fearful and worried? huh, what do you do?
Cure for Unhappiness
"We are never living, but only hoping to live; and looking forward always to being happy, it is inevitable that we never are so" said Pascal
"The attitude of unhappiness is not only painful, it is mean and ugly," says William James.
"What can be more base and unworthy than pinning, pulling, mumping mood, no matter by what outward ills it may have been engendered? what is more injurious to others? what less helpful as a way out of difficulty? It but perpetuates the trouble which occasioned it, and increases the total evil of the situation"
'Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be,' said Abraham Lincoln.
"Happiness is purely internal," says psychologist Dr. Matthew N. Chappel. "It is produced, not by objects, but by Ideas, thoughts and attitudes which can be developed by the individuals own activities, irrespective of the environment."
Stop letting things push you around! be reminded that happiness is not something that happens to you.It is something that you yourself do and determine upon.
If you wait for happiness to catch up with you or 'just happen' or to be brought to you by others or circumstances, well, you are likely to wait a long time my dear.
No one can determine or decide what you will think but yourself. If you wait for until circumstances 'justify' your thinking pleasant thoughts, you are also most likely to wait till eternity.
Everyday comes with a mixed package of good and evil. No day is at all 100% 'good'.
You will find that there are somethings and 'facts' present in the world and our personal lives at any one time, which will 'justify either a pessimistic and grumpy outlook, or an optimistic and happy outlook, it all depends on what we chose to focus on. Think, Decide & Act appropriately.
Its not a matter of being intellectually honest or dishonest. Good is as real as evil. What are you giving your primary attention to? what thoughts are you continuously holding in your mind? are you aware of them?
Remember, you are RESPONSIBLE for your own HAPPINESS , no one else is; not your government, not your company, not your wife, not your husband, not your pastor, not your children not even God! but YOURSELF!
Happiness is not something that is earned or deserved, if you are going to be happy at all, you must be happy - period! not happy "because of," Mmm hmm.., no, not that way. No "because of's."
If you're happy even though you don't yet have in your possession the thing you want - then you are attracting it to you.
If you're unhappy because you don't yet have in your possession the thing you NEED - then you are repelling it.
So, get happy NOW - not later. You have the power to control your thoughts.
In concluding this post, affirm with me that:
You will be a little less critical and a little more tolerant with other people, their faults, failings and mistakes. You will not let your own opinion colour 'facts' in a pessimistic or negative way, you will exercise your authority in Christ and speak the word of God to all those negative 'facts' which seem not to conform to the change you desire, you will practice smiling at least three times a day and regardless of what happens, you will react as calmly and as intelligently as possible.
Lets meet up next time right here, till then, be HAPPY.
I Love you and may God bless you.
Peace & Love
Libs
