Last night I had a great discussion with one of my online writing classes. The persuasive text they needed to write about was based on the prompt, “Can money buy happiness?”
They came up with some great arguments for 12 and 13 year old kids. Something that really stood out for me was that some of them felt that happiness was a priceless commodity, whereas money’s value could be measured. Isn’t that showing so much more maturity than most of us adults? Before they had to decide on their opinion, they had to give a definition for “happiness”. Most of them felt that happiness was a feeling, and that it was completely dependent on our circumstances. But is that true?
Actually, happiness is more of a state of mind. It is something we choose despite our circumstances. I have taught in the poorest of countries and have seen people exuberantly happy while living in absolute poverty. Some of them never knew where their next meal was coming from, yet they loved life. While on the other hand, we find people living privileged lives, but complaining about the most arbitrary things. It seems to me that the more we have, the more unhappy we become because we tend to look for happiness in things instead of realising that it needs to be found in a choice we make. And you are the only one who can make that choice.
If you are looking for true happiness, choose God. He is the only true source of a purposeful and happy existence. As our creator, He has given every person the freedom to choose their thoughts and actions. But when we make those choices removed from Him, there will always be something missing in our lives that cannot lead to complete happiness. Once we follow Jesus, we still need to make the conscious decision to not get caught up in the thought process of the world; to not focus on material things.
The first step towards living a truly happy life, is accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour. The 2nd step is to spend time with God everyday so that His love, peace and happiness can sink in. And finally we need to make a conscious decision every single moment, to focus on our blessings rather than our greed. I love life; not because my circumstances are always perfect, but because the One who calls me His son, is!
Life is beautiful and brings so many opportunities, if we choose to see with the right perspective.
Have an awesome day, being the boss.
Mark Davidson
