MANY people the world over seem to believe that the keys to happiness are a fancy car, a fat bank account, a prestigious career, a big house, and the latest electronic gadgets, along with an attractive figure or muscular physique. Yet, does happiness really depend upon such material and physical assets?
There has been “an explosion of research on happiness, optimism, positive emotions and healthy character traits,” says a special report in Time magazine. The results of such studies have been surprising to many. With remarkable consistency the evidence shows that people who are governed by the premise that money, fame, or beauty will make them happy are deceiving themselves. In fact, they are building their lives on a foundation that may be detrimental to their mental health and may even lead to their suffering depression.
In the United States, many people are richer than they have ever been. “But we are basically no happier for it,” says Time. Of course, the same could be said of people in other lands. China with its booming economy has also seen an alarming increase in unhappy people. There suicide has become “the leading cause of death in persons aged between 15 and 34 years,” says the quarterly Access Asia. One factor underlying this trend seems to be the pressure on young people to succeed in a tough and demanding secular environment.
Clearly, material progress does not diminish anxiety and stress; if anything, it heightens them. “Our very mode of life has now become our principal cause of emotional and mental instability,” concluded one university study. According to social-trends analyst Van Wishard, “mental and emotional health is the fastest growing component of health insurance for many companies.”
Even children are affected by our rapidly changing world. Books are now available for eight-year-old children that give them advice on “how to recognize the symptoms of stress and how to deal with it,” says Wishard. And according to a fact sheet on depression, diagnosed depression among children in a number of Western lands is increasing at an astounding 23 percent a year. Moreover, “pre-schoolers are the fastest-growing market for antidepressants.”
Fear is also increasing—and not just because of economic uncertainties. With political and religious extremism on the rise, many people shudder at the horrors that tomorrow may bring. Is help available?
that truth can help us to discern what is really important, leading to a happier and more meaningful life. Such spiritual truth also furnishes us with a bright hope.
A GOOD recipe and a good cook make for a good meal! In a way, it is similar with happiness. It is not the result of a single factor, but many things in life come together to produce happiness. These include work, play, time with family and friends, and spiritual activities. But there are also more subtle factors, such as attitudes, desires, and goals in life.
Be Generous and Thankful
Instead of being self-centered, happy people tend to be generous and interested in others. “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving,” Besides giving in a material way, we can give of our time and energy, which may be even more appreciated, especially in the family. Husbands and wives need to spend time together to keep their marriage strong and happy, and parents need to make ample time for their children, talking with them, showing them affection, and teaching them. When family members give in such ways, they thrive and their home becomes a haven of happiness.
Conversely, when others give to you—whether of themselves or in some other way—do you ‘show yourself thankful’? Living by those three words can make a world of difference in our relationships with others and can greatly add to our own joy. When someone expresses heartfelt gratitude to you, doesn’t your heart glow with warmth?
Showing gratitude also raises our awareness of the good things that happen to us. In a controlled experiment, a researcher at the University of California at Riverside, U.S.A., asked her subjects to keep a “gratitude journal”—a diary of things for which they were thankful. It comes as no surprise that over a period of six weeks, the subjects felt noticeably more satisfied with life.
The lesson? No matter what your situation, learn to count your blessings. In fact, urges you to do so, saying: “Always be rejoicing. . . . In connection with everything give thanks.” In order to do that, of course, we need to make a conscious effort to recall the good things we experience. Why not make that a personal goal?
Love and Hope—Essential for Happiness
It has rightly been said that from the cradle to the grave, humans need love. Without it, people pine away. But what exactly is love? Although the word is used loosely nowadays, “Love is long-suffering and kind,” it says. “Love is not jealous, it does not brag, does not get puffed up, does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury. It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
How unselfish true love is! Because it “does not look for its own interests,” it places the happiness of others ahead of self. Sadly, such love is becoming increasingly rare. In fact, in his great prophecy about the end of the present system of things.
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