Someone
once came to Dr. O. C. Smith and asked him how to be happy ... and he
said it is simple, just tell yourself that you are happy ... make the
choice to be happy no matter what is going on. And in these
simple words he spoke to a profound truth; we be-come what we choose
to be for we are the only one that can choose for us. And this
ability to choose happiness has been taught throughout history.
Yet, so many people confuse obtaining "things" with
obtaining happiness. Happiness is realized with the absence of
worry and anxiety ... in all their differing forms.
" So
never worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
...
in these words attributed to the Master Mind Jesus in
the Gospel of Matthew 6:34. This wisdom is repeated in these words
from Paramahansa Yogananda, "Forget the
past, for it is gone from your domain! Forget the future, for it is
beyond your reach! Control the present! Live supremely well now! It
will whitewash the dark past, and compel the future to be bright! This
is the way of the wise." And from the Talmud we can
read, "A person who has today's bread in
his basket and is worried, 'What will I eat tomorrow?'—is
a man of little faith," declared Rabbi Eliezer. The Lord stands
behind our own endeavors,
and as He provides for the raven in the field, He provides for man
also. In the words of the rabbis: "He who created each day
provides for the needs thereof." And so we
realize that each is teaching that we are to have an absolute reliance
upon the Love and Law of G-d ... an "active confidence and
faith" that our good is assured and therefore our happiness.
Anxiety
can even be a part of our prayers and spiritual treatments, especially
when we are praying for something specific or far-reaching in our
ability to demonstrate it. In her classic book, Unity
teacher Ruthanna Schenck provides us with some wisdom regarding
demonstrating happiness: "Sometimes
a person mistakes immediacy for importance; he puts too much energy
into satisfying petty needs which "look large" because they
are at hand. A little more generality in his prayers will remedy
this fault. Few persons suffer from being too general in their
prayers; most persons are far too specific, and they hinder their good
thereby. Try to have a "large vision" and see your
needs with understanding. Often a person can help himself a
great deal if he will analyze his desires. Here is a story that
aptly illustrates what a little analysis will do for one's
understanding about one's real need.
A man once told his friend that he wished he had some coal.
"Why do you want coal?" the friend asked. "Why,
for heat," he answered. "Then," the friend
reminded him, "what you really want is heat, not coal, isn't it?
But why do you want heat?" "Oh," the man said, "to
keep my family warm." "I see," said the friend;
"you don't want heat after all. What you really want is
warmth for your family. And why do you want them to be
warm?" "So they will be happy," the man replied.
"Then you really want not their warmth but their happiness,"
reasoned the friend. "But why do you want them to be
happy?" The man answered, "Because I cannot be happy
unless they are happy too." "I see," said the
friend. "What you really want is not a load of coal but
happiness!" And the man agreed that was what he really
wanted.
You should be sure that you
really understand your needs before you become too specific in your
prayers. ... Before you pray for specific things duly consider what
the things stand for; doing that, you can include in your prayers
desire for the reality rather than for the symbol. You can then
more readily recognize the good that is trying to come to you in
hundreds of ways and you can more understandingly cooperate with God
in bringing about that good."
And so we can find in this wisdom
from Dr. O. C. Smith, the Master Mind Jesus, Paramahansa Yogananda,
The Talmud and Ruthanna Schenck, that our happiness is ever-available
for us to choose it. And that our prayers are guaranteed an
affirmative answer when we pray with understanding and think beyond
the symbols of our desires. After all, isn't happiness always
the result we are seeking to experience?
AND
SO IT IS!
Keep
the
faith!
Rev.
Henry Bates
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