Be Happy !!!

HAPPY New year

How many times in the last couple of weeks have you been wished a HAPPY greeting? 

Have you stopped to think how often we focus on 'happy' as being the ultimate wish?  Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, Happy Anniversary, Happy Travels.  Whatever we wish others we attach 'happy' to the wish.   

While it is a given that everyone desires to be 'happy' we never seem to be able to hold onto it even if we do experience it here and there for a short time. 

For most of us, most of the time, 'happy' is a future state of being that is dependent on whatever personal conditions we place upon it. 

I will be happy 'when' or 'if' my conditions are met.  I will be happy if I win a million dollars... I will be happy when my mortgage is paid off,  I will be happy when I retire, I will be happy when all my children are grown, I will be happy if I have a new car,  I will be happy if I am successful in my career, I will be happy when I finish my schooling, I will be happy when my medical condition is resolved,  I will be happy when I lose 20 pounds, I will be happy when I am on vacation ...I will be happy if my bills are all paid ... etc, etc.  

And then even if we do fulfill our happy-conditions, it seems happiness has suddenly moved out of reach presenting yet another need before it can be a felt reality. 

That our default as humans is  to desire happiness is noted in the United States Declaration of Independence that the right of every American is "the pursuit of happiness."  

Yet Eleanor Roosevelt clarifies the misconception in her quote, "Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness, it is generally the by-product of other activities."

As a child reading "Alice Through the Looking Glass", by Lewis Carroll,  I was always intriguer by the fact that Alice had to walk away from something in order to reach it.   She did not realize that she was observing life through a mirror.

Eleanor's quote echoes this, identifying that Carroll's illustration is a  reality we all experience in our lives.  

We all naturally view life through the physical  reality of our world but we must learn to view our life through the 'mirror' of God's word.   Then we will see how walking contrary to what seems logical or reasonable will bring us to the very goal we are desiring to reach. 

Happiness cannot be attained by reaching for it, it will prove to be an illusive mirage or futile exercise.  

BUT when we believe God's word , when we put God and His righteousness first and do the things He tells us to do, when we seek the good of others,  when we focus on the task  before us and do it well, when we are thankful,  suddenly we will find that happiness has filled our hearts. 

Happiness is the fruit of the things we pursue in life and therefore is not dependent on circumstances or possessions or events - it is the reward of seeking the best in each day, yes, even in each moment.  If we see ourselves and our life through God's 'mirror', we will find that not only is our happiness a state of being but it deepens into abiding joy. 

"And these things write we to you, that your joy might be full." 

 I John 1:4