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Each and every human searches for Happiness. The
other life long human enterprise is the search for
Truth.
The United States Declaration of Independence, a
document that explains a Truth, declares that humans are
created with certain inalienable rights,
three of which are identified: Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness.
The pursuit of happiness is foremost on everyone’s mind,
everyday of their life. One’s happiness search
rests upon a ‘truth:’ A new car will make me happy.
A bigger house will make me happy. Marriage will
make me happy. Children will make me happy.
Being single and unattached will make me happy.
Exploring the world will make me happy.
And, for sure, each of these conclusions may for a time
bring happiness. But never complete happiness,
never lifelong happiness. The problem is
that none of these things are consistent, or
everlasting, or perfect – they deal with only a portion
of one’s life and needs.
The lack of lasting happiness, in every case, is because
we are looking in the wrong places for Happiness and
Truth.
Every
human searches for Truth and Happiness because we are
created by God to search for Him; God is Truth and
Happiness.
God created mankind out of goodness and love; in all
things and places God draws close to man, and He calls
out individually to each human to seek Him, to know Him,
to love Him. This Truth is what gives humankind
Dignity – worthiness – above all other creatures and
things.
God loves and wants each human being to share in His
life.
It is only in God that each of us will find the Truth
and lifelong Happiness that we seek. When we
finally understand that God is the true object of our
longing, that, in fact, that longing is God calling us
to Him, then we begin living our true life.
When we commune with God on
these terms, we become an infant beginning a new life,
learning a new way to live, and to think and act.
We discover our true self, and eventually come to
understand why God created us as the unique individual
that everyone of us is.
As we mature in our new life we understand that we are
exactly what we are so that we may successfully live the
specific life that God created us to live. When we
finally accept that life and the tasks inherent in it,
we become a whole, complete, and successful being.
When you are living the life that God created you to
live, you will stand tall and unafraid, facing any
adversity filled with hope and peace.
The LORD is my shepherd;
there is nothing I lack.
In green pastures you
let me graze; to safe waters you lead me; you restore my
strength. You guide me along the right path for the sake
of your name.
Even when I walk through
a dark valley, I fear no harm for you are at my side;
your rod and staff give me courage.
You set a table before
me as my enemies watch; You anoint my head with oil; my
cup overflows.
Only goodness and love
will pursue me all the days of my life; I will dwell in
the house of the LORD for years to come. (Psalm 23
of David)
You will be fulfilled,
living in the hands of God. Living, maybe for the
first time, the life you were made to live.
The great intellect, Saint Augustine of Hippo, said of
God, “when I am completely united to you (God), there
will be no more sorrow or trials; entirely full of you,
my life will be complete.”
Feeling follows action.
Here is a truth of human behavior: feeling follows
action. When you act a certain way, you eventually
feel that way. Put a smile on your face and
pretend that you’re a happy person, and you will become
a happy person. Mother Teresa said it this way,
“Let us always greet each other with a smile for the
smile is the beginning of love.”
It’s a wonderful way to start being the person you were
created to be.
Once you understand who God wants you to be, start being
that person, act as that person should act, and your new
life will unfold before you.
Ask
and you shall receive, seek and you shall find.
‘I asked for a new car, but when I got up this morning
the same old clunker was in my driveway. Hey,
maybe this is not what God wanted me to ask for.’
While God answers prayers and gives us things we want
and need, it is those things that are important to our
lives that He wants us to pray for. It is
important to develop a personal relationship with God
through prayer, and to pray for the understanding of His
will for you. Then have faith and He will give you
what you need in your life.
“My life started changing when I started praying for
understanding and guidance,” a friend told me. He
said that a priest had told him to pray for the
understanding of what God created him to be; the
knowledge of what God wanted of him; and the ability to
do God’s will.
“After a short time, things started opening up to me.
People were asking things of me, and when I was doing
those things, I felt great. I felt purely
wonderful.
“Then a friend recommended some reading to me, and when
I read it, I found out something about myself that I
hadn’t paid attention to before. I keep moving
forward, and everything feels so right.
“It is the same old me, but I am looking at myself in a
different light and new possibilities keep presenting
themselves to me.
“I’m much happier now; and I’m busy, busy in a good way.
I feel great about my life.”
Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness
In his monumental work, Thomas Jefferson indicated these
three most important human rights, Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness, as having been endowed in all
humans by their Creator.
The Great Creator, God, can be seen in His wonderful
creations. He is visible in the wonder and the
complexity of all creatures. But, He created
Humans in His likeness giving us intellect and Free Will
– the ability to discern and decide.
It is God that we are supposed to pursue.
You will fight to save your life, you may go to war to
preserve your liberty, but all you have to do to find
Happiness is go to Him who calls you; open your heart to
Him who loves you, and just follow the path to Happiness
that He lays before you. |
