Greetings all,
It was recently brought to my attention the profound importance of this word as well as the words that surround it. Below is by no means a complete thought or, obviously, the right answer, but it is a work in progress. These are my own thoughts, but possibly off of other ideas. I know my own opinion, but I have been posed with this statement regarding it.
“Happiness can be found in material things.”
Agree or disagree?
Hmmm…. Let me just jump into my opinion and thoughts. I apologize in advance for being sporadic.
I want to first separate “Happiness” from the rest of the sentence and focus on that. Happy and Happiness are two very different words. To be happy, in my sight, refers to an immediate and temporary state that one is in. For instance, I am happy at random points during a day, week, and month. While opening birthday gifts, I am very happy. Now change the word to happiNESS. The “ness” says a lot about the meaning the word is trying to convey. Its more long term, possibly even a lifetime feeling that does not fad overnight. I could be wrong in this. I am no professional in the English language, in fact do a spell/ grammer check on this post and you’ll see how efficient I am with this language we call “English”,but interpretation is everything isn’t it?
I also want to break down “material things.” Inanimate objects that can nether feel or convey feeling on their own. I would also consider these things as man made, created, developed etc… “Things” or possessions that we own. Maybe things money can buy? Maybe things that give you that happy feeling that will fade?
What are the things money can’t buy? Where do we place those things in order of importance?
Now let’s look back at the whole sentence. Can happiness be found in material things? If I keep myself in a box and literal, yes I completely agree with the statement. Getting the new iphone 4 would make me VERY VERY happy. I box myself a lot because I do want the next best gadget. However, my conscience earns its keep while I am doing it. I know there will be a better whatever next year and then I will want that. HappiNESS can not be found in material things. Happiness is a legacy. Happiness is looking forward to living another day. Meeting new people and learning their stories. Finding out what makes them happy (long term) just by listening to them talk about what’s going on in their lives. Being encouraged and encouraging others. I was stopped the other day by a man who said he was watching me wipe my sons face off. He said “You deserve the Dad of the year award.” I said “Thanks” but thought, I just wiped his face off??!??! But the rest of the day I felt confident and secure about how I was doing as a Dad. Maybe this man, who I will never see again, had a terrible childhood and it truly makes him happy to see good Dad’s. Being reminded of the important things and getting back to the basics. Being thankful, is that part of it too? It was posed to us then, how our view would change if the sentence read “TRUE happiness can be found in material things.” What’s the difference? I want my happiness to be true all the time. Who would want false happiness?
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control ARE HAPPINESS and show that a person is “truly” happy.
God showed me what happiness truly is when my son was born a little over two years ago. I thought I knew what happiness was. Deciding to share the rest of my life with my high school sweetheart brought me happiness. When Bryson was born everything changed. EVERYTHING. My focus. My priorities. My “plans.” All of the characteristics listed above (Love, joy, peace…) were redefined as well. I thought I knew what love was. I thought I was all of these things until Bryson came and showed me a side of these things that only come with children. They have the ability to bring you to your knees and then melt your heart with a smile. The feeling of willingness to do anything for someone is incomparable. I think I’ll post or re-post the poem that I wrote for Bryson when he was born for hopefully a clearer picture of this.
Is there something we can do to gain, find, or increase happiness, long term, and lifelong joy? Not sure. Helping those in need. Holding doors for elderly folk and then letting them turn and genuinely thank you is a good one that gets you a whole bunch of warm fuzzes inside. Letting someone merge in a traffic jam (Probably saved you a repair bill if anything because he was going to merge anyway). Respecting yourself. Walking someone’s dog. Babysitting for a single mother and, if you can, paying for her to get her nails done. When we do nice things for others, even the littlest things, we gain self respect. Increasing our happiness?
That’s it. All I got. Hopefully, I did not contradict myself to bad. Hopefully I make sense. Hopefully, I didn’t deviate from the main point either. Hopefully you respond to this with your thoughts and opinions. It is interesting where we decide to find joy and happiness isn’t it? Hopefully, without getting to morbid, when our lives are coming to a close we can all look back and say “I found happiness.”
Pondering this for the last week or so has really opened my eyes to the little things in life I take for granted. It has actually been fun trying to find the meaning of happiness in my daily life. Hmm, maybe this is part of it too. Seeking out happiness in our lives? Does happiness just come to us naturally or do we need to be active in it? Is it a choice we make? Wrestling with this and trying to see my opinion was right or maybe I am way off. Maybe after reading this you will have a whole different view and idea. I would love to hear it!
SOME OTHER THINGS…
Many will say there is a religious aspect to happiness. To be blessed. I must say I would agree with them. Living fully for Jesus Christ and trusting that He will provide for your life is both scary, but fulfilling as well. I do worry and I am afraid at times when I am unsure of the future, but I have nothing to fear when the creator of the universe (and my son) has my back. Do I fail with letting Him provide for me? EVERY SINGLE DAY!!
Those following the economic view of happiness will be forever seeking it. I want a million dollars and when I get it, I will want a billion. When I get a billion, guess what I will want? How many stories have I heard about million and billionaires that do not have to worry about paying bills, having the latest things and clothes, or anything money can buy and yet they are so sad? People say, I wish I had that much money. I don’t. Greed IS NOT happiness. It is interesting looking at bank statements, seeing where we put our hard earned dollars ,and thinking if those things are things that have made us long term happy or short term.
I think happiness has a lot to do with the biological aspect. Humans are relational beings who no interaction with other human beings. Life is about creating relationships with others. Family is a key part of this view. A strong support system in place. Maybe this is why I got into what I want to do. If I can just be a friend to a student who might not have friends, I have done my job. Who knows, maybe they will do better in school or maybe they will possibly even think twice about hurting themselves. A lot of science has gone into discovering happiness like there is a magical pill or 3 step process to happiness. I don’t know about all that, but I do know what I have written above.
I don’t know… Without doing all kinds of research and philosophical or psychological ideas/ theories, and there are thousands of Happiness quotes, but…this is what I think. You?
Thanks for reading!! Have a GREAT day.
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