Ongkingco
Every year, we joyfully greet one another a Happy New Year! But are we indeed happier? Is it only a happiness from something materially or emotionally new, that lingers as short as fireworks?
Once, I came across an enlightening essay by Venerable Bishop Fulton Sheen entitled “Are you happy?” Sheen wrote that every man, with right reason, seeks to be naturally happy. This desire, he added, is something that will never be satisfied here on earth, because it has its source and ultimate fulfillment in Heaven.
To stress his point, he made this observation: If we continue to see doctors, lawyers, soldiers it is simply because health, justice and peace have not been fully achieved. There must, therefore, be a place where all these earthly longings are satisfied.
Today, as Pope Benedict XVI laments, many seek to be happy but do not know where to look for it. Instead, they are tragically trapped in false and disordered substitutes for happiness; things, fame, power and more. Still, it is undeniable that the decadent lifestyles of some people are also a clear demonstration of their desire — though in a distorted and disordered form — to be happy.
Does this mean that we can only be resigned to a celestial deliverance to solve our earthly burdens and sufferings? Is it even possible to think that we can be happy in this life?
Yes! We can, even now, be happy in this life. In fact, our desire and effort to be happy here is a preparation for the greater joy we long for and which can only be granted us eternally one day in Heaven. But this, as St. Josemaría amusingly taught, is not the happiness of a contented well-fed cow. It is a happiness rooted in and grows by giving ourselves to God and neighbor.
Earthly happiness disappears when we cling to our pride and selfishness. Thus, even the good we have, stagnates into something viciously sad and unfruitfully burdensome. But when we choose to sincerely give ourselves, then we experience a profound spiritual fulfillment.
Here are some tips:
Share something. There is no person who has not experienced happiness –big or small– in some form. Some may validly argue that life has been unfair to them. But if we only cling to what is negative, then there is nothing to start with. Whatever experience of happiness one has, is already a starting point of growing in being happier.
Hidden talents. Everyone, more than having something special, is already special. Our world’s material outlook tends to emphasize more on what people have or can perform than what they are. The talent is someone and not only something.
Give, give, give! If we constantly foster a giving mind, it will not be easy to become sad or depressed. Even though sometimes it is discouraging not to be acknowledge, let us not stop giving ourselves. What matters isn’t how much we give, but our desire to give something unique of ourselves. Some of these gifts can be spiritual and other material.
Spiritual gifts. There is the gift of praying for others, including those we may not be very close to. The gift of forgiving even if it may be hard to forget.
The gift of thoughtfulness by using our imagination to contemplate our loved ones smiling faces. Of course there is our smile, even when it sometimes may not be easy to form.
Material gifts. These are not gadgets or treats. The best material gifts often result from the spiritual ones. Like the gift of service, great or small, carried out naturally and constantly. The gift of our greetings (i.e. good morning or afternoon), and even a sincere complement given to our colleagues. And there is the gift of presence when we accompany others, (silently or by giving advice) through life’s trying moments.
As our capacity grows in love, so too does our happiness. Life then takes on one purpose: Of living for an eternal love in Heaven by growing in one’s love here on earth, because this is the only thing that can one day give him a happiness that is forever new.
“Make me Thine, and the grace to make Thee, mine.” SYF
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