I think it is safe to say happiness stems from hope. Hope for ourselves and hope for others.One could argue that faith is the vehicle of hope. Faith carries it forward generation after generation. If we lose faith,we lose hope. Without hope there is no happiness. One could also say, happiness is love. The love that is spoken of in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Faith,hope and love. And the greatest of these is love. (happiness )(charity)
The things that make us happy are indicators of growth. When we have reached the point where we want nothing and are happy, we have grown. I think that may be the secret to a long life. Finding happiness in the hope of others. That could explain the love we feel for our children and then a very special love of grandchildren. I'm hoping to feel the love of great grandchildren one day as well. Is that a selfish hope ? I guess it is and so I am not fully grown just yet. I'm thinking that is a good thing.
I think that perhaps in generations past, when families where much larger than today, that sense of hope was easier to find. There are disappointments along the way. Reality has a way of interfering with our hopes and dreams. Numbers increase the odds however. The more children we have, and grandchildren, the more likely we are to see that hope. It takes only one spark to start the fire of hope but it is a slow flame. It is that flame that turns into happiness. ( love ). Happiness completes the cycle.
We need to have faith. Faith is an essential building block. The question becomes one of, where do we place our faith. Do we place our faith in man ? Can man solve all the issues of the world and bring about a lasting happiness ? If history is a guide I would have to say, No. Our track record isn't so great. Is it a matter of intelligence ? When we become smart enough we will have all the answers ? I don't think so, answers generally lead to more questions. Then that leaves us with faith in a God. A creator that made, or at the very least caused to be made, the earth and all the cosmos. That we have to take on faith, do we not ? Is that not where hope lies ? Hope lies in the benevolence of the creator.
When we are able to set aside our own disappointments and failures, when we can sit in the evening at peace with our own thoughts, when we are content, we find happiness. Happiness stems from the hope we have for mankind. Happiness is believing that our creator is indeed benevolent. Our existence here in bodily form is finite, our spirits are not. The infinite spirit of man can be found in our prodigy and that is happiness. The prodigy of mankind. The only condition to that is, it takes faith.
The things that make us happy are indicators of growth. When we have reached the point where we want nothing and are happy, we have grown. I think that may be the secret to a long life. Finding happiness in the hope of others. That could explain the love we feel for our children and then a very special love of grandchildren. I'm hoping to feel the love of great grandchildren one day as well. Is that a selfish hope ? I guess it is and so I am not fully grown just yet. I'm thinking that is a good thing.
I think that perhaps in generations past, when families where much larger than today, that sense of hope was easier to find. There are disappointments along the way. Reality has a way of interfering with our hopes and dreams. Numbers increase the odds however. The more children we have, and grandchildren, the more likely we are to see that hope. It takes only one spark to start the fire of hope but it is a slow flame. It is that flame that turns into happiness. ( love ). Happiness completes the cycle.
We need to have faith. Faith is an essential building block. The question becomes one of, where do we place our faith. Do we place our faith in man ? Can man solve all the issues of the world and bring about a lasting happiness ? If history is a guide I would have to say, No. Our track record isn't so great. Is it a matter of intelligence ? When we become smart enough we will have all the answers ? I don't think so, answers generally lead to more questions. Then that leaves us with faith in a God. A creator that made, or at the very least caused to be made, the earth and all the cosmos. That we have to take on faith, do we not ? Is that not where hope lies ? Hope lies in the benevolence of the creator.
When we are able to set aside our own disappointments and failures, when we can sit in the evening at peace with our own thoughts, when we are content, we find happiness. Happiness stems from the hope we have for mankind. Happiness is believing that our creator is indeed benevolent. Our existence here in bodily form is finite, our spirits are not. The infinite spirit of man can be found in our prodigy and that is happiness. The prodigy of mankind. The only condition to that is, it takes faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment