Monday, June 08, 2009

The Pursuit of way Too Happiness

So, I got to thinking this morning about what makes me “way too” happy (thanks E, you inspired me) and how such happiness could be construed as excessive. Here is what I discovered:

1) Having peace of mind makes me incredibly happy. Stress and anxiety are dead ends for me.
2) Having a good relationship with my husband makes me happy. Having a good foundation to build on is the key.
3) Giving and receiving unconditional love makes me happy.
4) Knowing that My Father loves me makes me happy. His love is ultimately what makes me happy.
5) Making others feel inspired makes me happy.

Being happy isn’t about never acknowledging that things happen in life that are weighty and difficult. But instead, acknowledging that life brings what it brings, and standing up against it. I considered how my happiness could be perceived as excessive, and even phony. And perhaps, it could appear to be “way too happy” if one were oblivious to my early life woes. And maybe, if one were ignorant (I don’t mean that as in insult), but if one were without knowledge of the many vicissitudes I faced growing up , then, yes, I could see how my happiness could be perceived as a little too much happy.

Ironically, I was discussing this very idea with a girlfriend of mine over the weekend, as we swept away in her shiny VW Beatle in Beverly Hills, Ca. She too, can attest to the satisfying details of happiness.

She said, “People are always like, you have everything! This happened for you! That happened for you!” She continued, “But they don’t know that I was on my face, asking God about this and that! People don’t know what I’ve been through”.

My happiness is not an alien form. It isn’t some luck of the draw, or even an exclusive right. It’s a way of life. A way of living that demands faith. The misconception is that to be happy, you have to be numb. That whatever negative circumstance is going on, you have to turn a blind eye to it. “The elephant is not in the room. The elephant is not in the room!” That’s not it.
Being happy is self-determined. It’s your perception. If you perceive that tribulation, will somehow overwhelm you, condemn you to a debt ridden & hapless life, and cause you to ultimately go insane, then you will very naturally and willing succumb to what you foresee.
However, if you have at least once in your life, tasted the goodness of God, seen the light at the end of tunnel and can reckon it to memory, than you just may be in Pursuit of Way Too Happiness. I say this with a great deal of empathy. I realize that the financial crisis and harsh times have almost completely receded happiness in our culture; in its place, rabid fear, narcissism, sarcasm and severe depression, just to name few isms. So many people have been laid off, furloughed and are living from paycheck to paycheck just trying to make ends meet. What used to be the American Dream, has for some become the American Re-Occurring Nightmare.

But I want to encourage those of you out there who aren’t happy right now. That everything is going to be okay. Don’t worry about the things that you cannot change. If you have breath in your body you have a fighting chance.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Way too Happy by definition is a happiness that persists and exceeds even our limited perception of what truly makes us happy. Look at your life, and think about what makes you happy. If you are honest with yourself it’s not things that make you happy but your human experience.

In your Pursuit of Way Too Happiness I encourage you to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

God Bless,

Natrietia