Short Series: The Secret To Happiness

Hello there,

What if I told you the secret to happiness? 

Would you be interested? 

Why would you?

In today's day and age, there is much talk about finding happiness. You have self-help books telling you how to seek happiness. You have movies and stories encouraging you to chase after happiness, to pursue the things that make you happy. You hear about how "money cannot buy happiness" or  that "money buys you happiness, you just need to know how to spend it". 

Find happiness, chase it, obtain it. Happiness is out there, you just need to want it. After all, the purpose of life is to be happy!

What if I told you that there is no secret to happiness?

What if I told you that there is, however, a secret of happiness?

You see, happiness is often thought of an ends in itself. People think that happiness is the end that is finally waiting for you, after all your hard work and striving. The truth is, folks, you can't seek happiness - at least not your own. When you get what you want, you feel happy. However, when you see someone else get what they want or need, especially if its because of you, the immense happiness erupting from your very core is indelible. And guess what? The happiness you get from seeking the happiness of others far surpasses that of seeking your own happiness. 

I like to use the term 'joy' instead of 'happiness' because I find happiness to be more of a state, something that's temporal and circumstantial; but joy to be something that's sustaining, hardy and independent of circumstance. And that's really what we feel when we seek the joy of others: you could have having a terrible day but still experience joy when you help that fella get his wheelchair into the train. And when the joy is within you, what you're simply experiencing is enjoyment ("en" literally meaning 'within' and "joy" meaning 'great pleasure').

Here's the secret of happiness: 

You want to seek happiness? No you don't

It's joy you're seeking. Not your own but someone else's.

Cheers,

Matt

Short Series: Looking Back and Moving Forward

Retrospect is amazing. Often, we learn the most through looking back at our past experiences and reflecting upon them. We think about what we did, what we should have done instead, and how we should have done it better. Most of our lessons are learnt through retrospect, hence the phrase: "experience is the best teacher: it gives you the test first and delivers the lesson later". Therefore, cultivating a habit of reflection is arguably one of the most important aspects of growth.

Growth, however, cannot be sustained by mere retrospect alone. You simply cannot hope to improve simply by looking back and thinking of what you should have done. Our thoughts need to be put into action. This is where introspection comes into practice: We have to examine the state of our mind and then consider carefully what steps we should take next. This is where discipline and obedience comes in - while we don't know what the path ahead will present, we have to simply walk in the things we know, and in full integrity.

When we maintain the a balance of the two in our lives, we find progress; we find improvement; we find growth. This is true of spiritual growth: walk in faith obediently and faithfully, steadfast in the teachings of the Word; and when you blunder, reflect upon it, seek the mercy and grace from God and ask Him for the strength to move on. Above all, find delight and joy in doing the will of God. (Psalm 40:8)

God has an awesome and amazing plan for each of our lives, are you ready to starting living it out?

Cheers,

Matt