Five KEYS to happiness revealed!!!

So, I was going about my day when it hit me! I had to pull over and write it down!

The five keys to happiness!

Get your pen and paper and get ready to write these down…ready? Okay here they are!












Okay, none of that happened. Because, well, there are no “keys” to happiness. At least, not as we would define them. Certainly there are things that make us happy, but these are not ALL the same for you and me.

I am happy when the Twins win. You, on the other hand, may not care (I don’t know how THAT could be, but there are mysteries in life we may never understand).

Granted, there are certain things that do make us all happy. Doing good for someone in need, for example, I think makes us all happy. Maybe not jump up and down happy giving each other high-fives, but it does make our SOUL happy.

The problem with the “keys to happiness” is that they are grounded in the fallacy that we are to live a completely happy life – or a life where there are WAY more ups than there are DOWNS.

That isn’t how life is…

Life is a ride, it’s a journey, it’s a roller coaster…there are UPS there are DOWNS. It’s not important that we have less “downs” than “ups”, but rather to appreciate the “ups” when we do have them, and to help others when they are having their “down.”

Are you enjoying the sun more today (or appreciating it) because of yesterday?

I know I am.

Also, the other problems with “keys to happiness” is they are selfish. All it takes is one look at the “Self-help” section in a bookstore…what the heck is going on here?! What a failure rate of Self help…how many books need there be?

I haven’t looked at these books so this is a pure guess: not many are devoted to NOT being MORE selfish.

Somehow, someway they find a way to tell you that it’s that you need to treat yourself to a sweater when you are feeling down (or a latte, or a book in my case) and while that might help temporarily, it isn’t the cure.

Now, yes, we all need warm fuzzies for ourselves, we all need pick-me-ups. But we might need a few less if we handed out more warm fuzzies and pick-me-ups to others.

All the “things” in the world are of no help in a dark room if you can’t see – when all it would take is the smallest of candles to light your way (or someone else’s).

Jesus talked about abundant life…LIFE. Not money, not love, not friends, not things…life – life is made up of UPS and DOWNS. He promised a whole bunch of each, because when we start to truly live from our heart and soul we will be hurt more often, taken advantage of more often, sad more often…

But, the sunny days will also be that much brighter and warmer and sunnier and…

Okay, off my soap box now, it’s getting a little rickety.

Chris