What is the meaning of happiness? We all want to be happy, and many of us spend a lifetime pursuing it. It is even so foundational to our nation that the "pursuit of happiness" is literally written in our constitution. But I have been wondering what does it mean to be truly happy. Of course I know what happiness feels like, but I am trying to look deeper into the meaning of happiness.
I started the journey on a book recommendation to read Viktor E. Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. Frankl was a survivor of the Holocaust, and the book is his amazing story and his search for meaning in the most desperate of places, in the Nazi Concentration Camps. When Heather and I recently visited Germany we visited the Dachau concentration camp to see exactly where Frankl had been for the majority of his imprisonment. In his book Frankl says: "Suffering is an eradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete. The way in which man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity - even under the most difficult of circumstances - to add deeper meaning to his life." Here is a man who suffered greatly and saw the worst of things, and he found meaning in his suffering. I can relate to what Frankl is saying here. If you have read my blog posts, you know that I have also found great meaning in raising a child with special needs (Please note: I am not comparing any of my suffering to that of a concentration camp). I think the reason that suffering adds meaning is because it forces us to ask the question - WHY? Most of us, if we are honest with ourselves, spend most of our time asking - WHAT? What do I need to do or accomplish today on my to-do list? If we have a stimulating day we might even get to the HOW?, especially if we have a stimulating job. We don't often make as much time for the most important question of all - Why? In times of suffering we ask the Why questions, and add deeper meaning to our lives. So if in times of suffering we find deeper meaning, then what is the meaning of happiness?
Happiness for me does not come in its pursuit. Happiness for me comes in discovering meaning. Happiness comes not by me pursuing it, but by starting each and every day by taking my Why questions to God. I take my Why questions to God, so he can reveal to me my How and my What. The only issue you will discover in that process, is that God is not always interested in your happiness. He is interested in your meaning, and your existence. There is a time and place for everything on this earth as Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reminds us:
I started the journey on a book recommendation to read Viktor E. Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. Frankl was a survivor of the Holocaust, and the book is his amazing story and his search for meaning in the most desperate of places, in the Nazi Concentration Camps. When Heather and I recently visited Germany we visited the Dachau concentration camp to see exactly where Frankl had been for the majority of his imprisonment. In his book Frankl says: "Suffering is an eradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete. The way in which man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity - even under the most difficult of circumstances - to add deeper meaning to his life." Here is a man who suffered greatly and saw the worst of things, and he found meaning in his suffering. I can relate to what Frankl is saying here. If you have read my blog posts, you know that I have also found great meaning in raising a child with special needs (Please note: I am not comparing any of my suffering to that of a concentration camp). I think the reason that suffering adds meaning is because it forces us to ask the question - WHY? Most of us, if we are honest with ourselves, spend most of our time asking - WHAT? What do I need to do or accomplish today on my to-do list? If we have a stimulating day we might even get to the HOW?, especially if we have a stimulating job. We don't often make as much time for the most important question of all - Why? In times of suffering we ask the Why questions, and add deeper meaning to our lives. So if in times of suffering we find deeper meaning, then what is the meaning of happiness?
Happiness for me does not come in its pursuit. Happiness for me comes in discovering meaning. Happiness comes not by me pursuing it, but by starting each and every day by taking my Why questions to God. I take my Why questions to God, so he can reveal to me my How and my What. The only issue you will discover in that process, is that God is not always interested in your happiness. He is interested in your meaning, and your existence. There is a time and place for everything on this earth as Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reminds us:
There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and time to heal;
a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;
a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.
If there truly is a time for everything, then I believe happiness is about accepting where we are in the journey. Some times will feel better than others, but there wouldn't be joy without the pain...and none of it would be worth it without LOVE. For as Frankl also says in his book: "love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love."
I think oftentimes people mistake "happiness" for having everything going "right" in life. I agree with you - I don't think happiness is a pursuit - it is a mindframe and a recognition and acceptance of God's plans for us. Frankl's book/quote reminded me of one of my absolute favorite quotes from Mother Theresa -
ReplyDelete"I wonder what the world would be like if there were not innocent people making reparation for us all...? Today the passion of Christ is being relived in the lives of those who suffer. To accept that suffering is a gift of God. Suffering is not a punishment. God does not punish. Suffering is a gift though like all gifts, it depends on how we receive it. And that is why we need a pure heart to see the hand of God, to feel the hand of God, to recognize the gift of God in our suffering. Suffering is not a punishment. Jesus does not punish. Suffering is a sign a sign that we have come so close to Jesus on the cross, that He can kiss us, and show that He is in love with us, by giving us an opportunity to share in His passion. Suffering is not a punishment, not a fruit of sin, it is a gift of God. He allows us to share in His suffering and to make up for the sins of the world." -Mother Teresa
In thinking about suffering - or any non-pleasant task or situation - as a gift, it can make one happy that they are being held closer to God by experiencing it. And that, can be a source of extreme happiness.