hope and happiness

  As the new year looms on the horizon I am reminded of a quote by Tennyson. " Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, it will be happier. " And this year I believe that is especially true. After nearly a year of the negative we are all looking for some happiness and hope. The vaccine is at the forefront of that hope according to the media. There are two vaccines and a third one promised. It would seem the hope of the world is pinned to those vaccines. Science will save humanity? That is the narrative today, the narrative of the 21st century so far. A move away from the spiritual toward a a belief in science and proof. Interestingly science is proving more and more every day that the last time humanity was saved, it was saved by the hand of God. We know it as the great flood. It was a cleansing of the world, a sort of reboot to humanity. There had been global warming since the words were uttered, let there be light. That was the beginning. Then that light was shuttered, for forty days and nights, a cooling rain fell and washed away the past. When the light returned, the waters receded. Today science calls that climate change. The real question being, who or what drives the science? It certainly isn't man. Man knows very little about any of those processes. So, for me, I have to set science aside when looking for hope. Alexander Pope wrote, "hope springs eternal in the human breast" and it is an idiom we all know. He was, of course, talking about our heart.

 Happiness resides within the heart. Lasting happiness can only come from that, not from any outward source. It is hope that provides true happiness. The certain knowledge that tomorrow will somehow be better is what carries us through. It has always been so. The Jewish people are the proof of that. They are still waiting for a Messiah. That is their hope, their faith and their belief. The Jewish people have certainly endured, that can not be denied. Are they happy? I expect they are just as happy as anyone else in this world. I provide that only as a comparison. Religion, and religious belief are a vehicle to happiness because the vehicle is the heart. It requires no proof, no science to confirm or deny. Religious belief does have one requirement however, it must exist within a boundary. All hope, all happiness, exists within a boundary. When we exceed that boundary, we are unhappy. When we perceive others operating outside of the boundary, we are unhappy. Man requires boundaries. It is the dissolution of boundaries that precipitates catastrophes. Read Genesis to see what I mean. God saw that man was living outside the boundaries and well, you know the rest. 

 New years is a time for resolutions. What are resolutions? Promises. Promises made to ourselves is the short answer. These resolutions may effect others, may even apply to others when done by proper authority, but they are promises nonetheless. What are the usual promises made? To improve ourselves. That what they are. We are aware of our shortcomings and promise to take action to correct that. Often we make that promise in the belief that it will make us happier in the new year. The New Year will be better than the last. And it will be better because we will restrict ourselves, we will live within the boundary. A conscious restraint is the true path to happiness. Happiness can not come from outside the wall. Happiness is the motivation, not the reward. We are motivated to do good when we are happy. When we are unhappy we look for the reason, we place blame on others. If only, becomes a part of the conversation. That is when we start to restrict others, instead of ourselves. 

 Now all of that is on a personal level, it only pertains to ourselves. On a larger scale, families, towns, cities, and countries, a collective consciousness must be recognized. That consciousness will, of necessity, be diverse. As Epictetus said, " All religions must be tolerated---for every man must get to heaven in his own way" as a way of expressing that thought. Religions provide the boundaries. When your religious beliefs infringe upon mine, that is an issue. But it isn't only religious belief that may infringe. Morality always plays a leading role. Our morals are the boundary we set for ourselves. Anytime we step outside that boundary, we experience discomfort. The amount of discomfort we tolerate isn't a measure of our happiness. 

 We find ourselves standing on that threshold Tennyson spoke about. There is hope for a better year. Is that hope pinned to a vaccine? Will science dictate your happiness? True strength lies in the ability to change in response to a conscious restraint. It isn't in eliminating the restraint! Our Constitution was intended to provide that restraint to a nation. Our hope, as a nation, lies in that document. The power to change lies in that document also. Positive change lies within the boundary, not outside of it. My hope for the new year lies not in a vaccine, but in responding to a conscious restraint. It is my hope that the United States of America will respond once again. Within the framework of our Republic change will take place. My hope is for a return, a return to a national awareness of just you we are. We are better than this! Much better. Happy New Year.