I’ve been thinking about happiness— how wrong it is ever to expect it to last or there to be a time of happiness. It’s not that, it’s a moment of happiness. Almost every day containing at least one moment of happiness.
+May Sarton
Finding true joy is the hardest of all spiritual tasks. If the only way to make yourself happy is by doing something silly, do it.
+Rebbe Nachman of Breslov
“TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY,” so the song goes, and just how does one pull that off these days especially during this holiday season when we want to be or are expected to be happy, joyful, and jolly? Personally, I must confess to being one who would like happiness to last longer than it does on any given day. As a child, I thought enjoying a new toy, a special piece of candy, a new book, and the hammock my grandma gave me for my birthday would make me happy for as long as I had it in my possession. I soon learned that some things last longer than others, and so did my happiness. As I moved along in life, it occurred to me that what made me happy did not necessarily make others happy, so I began to reflect more on just what did make me happy and others not so much.
As I think about the meaning of Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanza, the three holidays listed on my December calendar, I wonder where happiness comes into the celebrating of these special days for the respective religions and cultures. When my youngest niece was in grade school, she envied her Jewish friend who received a gift every day during Hanukkah. She received lots more than eight gifts on Christmas Eve herself, but the specialness of the one gift a day seemed to be more intriguing than the many gifts she was showered with by her parents and grandparents. Perhaps the joy of receiving one gift a day for eight days seemed more significant than all that joy in one evening on Christmas Eve. Spreading out the happiness may have seemed like there was more of it.
Who knows what a child thinks about such things?
As I move along on my own life’s journey, I catch myself enjoying a lovely sunny day, a powerful thunderstorm, a new bird song in the spring, and the glorious fall colors. The cold weather will soon be upon us in this part of the country, and I look forward to enjoying the first snowfall and ice that will cover the landscape and create a fairyland that brings me happiness as long as I don’t have to shovel the snow or walk or drive on the ice. Even though I realize that this happiness is fleeting, lasts a few minutes or even hours, I still can enjoy these moments of happiness and many others that I experience daily. Actually, it’s something to think about as I drift off to sleep each night—what were the happy moments of this day?
As Rebbe Nachman says above, If the only way to make yourself happy is by doing something silly, do it. If you find yourself unable to think of anything that made you happy give Rebbe Nachman’s suggestion a try. May you sleep in heavenly peace. May we all experience peace on earth and learn to love one another so happiness, joy, and kindness will prevail in these times and in the future.
Sister Mary Thill is a Sylvania Franciscan Sister. She can be reached at mthill@sistersosf.org. ✲
