Article October 21, 1985 Issue

The happiness that "requires all mankind to share it"

HELEN R. CONROYD

Suppose you're walking along with a swing and a smile on your face and a glow from within, and somebody says, "My, you look happy." You'd probably say, "I am happy." But what if that someone asked not "Why are you happy?" but "What is happiness?" What would you say?

Would you be tempted to think, "What kind of foolish question is that when the answer's so obvious? Why, everyone knows what happiness is. Happiness is having a loving family and friends. It's living in the place that makes you feel you never want to live anywhere else. It's being a success in what you set out to accomplish. To put it briefly, happiness is when you have everything going your way. Isn't it?"

Well, let's think about that for a moment. Is there anyone who hasn't felt at some time: If I could only have this or do that, I'd really be happy? And then when we get it or do it, what happens? We may feel happy for a while perhaps, but it's never enough. There's always something missing. What is it? Why is it when we get what we want, we often don't feel satisfied? It could be—very simply—that we haven't as yet accepted as much as we should the provable fact that happiness is spiritual, that nothing material ever really satisfies.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

How to hear and keep the Word of God