Happiness vs. Pleasure

I have been thinking a lot lately on these two feelings and how they are often confused with each other. I want to share what I have learned about the two and how to tell the difference between them.

First lets take a look at pleasure. It comes from external sources. It is associated with what we eat, drink, watch, listen to, or certain activities that we participate in. Pleasure is usually fleeting. It is a feeling that will soon leave us when we are no longer doing what was bringing us pleasure. Sometimes we are even left with pain and, or emptiness.

Now let’s look at happiness.

“Happiness cannot come from without. It must come from within. It is not what we see and touch or that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is that which we think and feel and do, first for the other fellow and then for ourselves.”

- Helen Keller

Happiness unlike pleasure does not come from others, or from things. It has to come from within. It begins as a choice, and then an attitude. It comes when we are grateful for what we have and what comes into our lives. It comes when we serve others and forget about ourselves and our own problems. Happiness is the result of living a life based on truths. We can be happy even when faced with great struggles and adversities.

I’ve learned these lessons after some of my own struggles. I’ve also learned some of my greatest lessons on happiness watching others and the way they remained happy even when faced with terminal illness, or after the death of a child, or spouse, or during other struggles or tragedies. Happy people all have one thing in common. They focus on blessings, they are grateful for what is and continue in hope and faith. I am so thankful for the people who have touched my heart with their examples of how to be happy.

May you find the happiness you desire. Look within. It has been there all the time.

-To your happiness.

Daneece

 

My thoughts on the economy, life in this country, and who’s to blame for this mess

So I was watching the State of  the Union Address last night and it started out pretty well, kind of eloquent and then it turned ugly. I couldn’t take it long so I pushed the power button on the TV and went back to work. Back to work meaning cooking, cleaning, and raising a family. It is because of this family that the future concern me. If it was just about me I wouldn’t worry too much. I’ve lived at times with little. If I had to I could survive with less. But I don’t want that for my children, grandchildren or even great-grandchildren. Did you know that the decisions we make today will have rippling effects that affect 4 generations. Really. Ask Dr. DeMille of George Wythe College. Anyway, back to the state of the Union.

There has been a lot of blame being thrown around lately. Who’s to blame. Some blame the republicans, others the democrats, others President Obama, some blame Bush, they even blame Wall Street, and still others put all the blame on God. So, who is to blame?

To do that we have to go back to the beginning. A really long time ago God created this earth-for those of you who doubt it let me stop here and explain. God is this perfect, all knowing, powerful being. The key word is perfect. Now, as part of His perfection he has a perfect knowledge of natural law. With that knowledge He created this earth. Science has been little by little explaining natural law and discovering laws that God used when creating this earth. It can all go hand in hand it just takes a perfect understanding of God. Disclaimer here-I do not have a perfect understanding of God and the preceding statements were not intended to ? that. After the earth was ready God placed Adam and Eve here. They made choices that led to the human race living a life of cycles. These cycles are patterns in life such as day and night, or the four seasons we enjoy each year. There are also patterns that are a little less noticeable because each part of the cycle lasts many years. It is all normal, and the one thing about it all is that things are constantly changing and shifting.

What does that have to do with now? We, as a country, are right where we should be. Have you ever heard the saying “history repeats itself”? It does. History has four cycles, just like seasons. Some refer to these cycles as High, Awakening, Unraveling, and Crisis. For a great read on this see The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe. Any guesses on where we are? You’re right. We are in the Crisis. Each part of the cycle takes about 20 years to complete itself and some calculate we’ve been in this one already about 5-8 years, so we’re getting close to about the half mark. Any guesses on when the last crisis was? The Great Depression.

So what does that mean?  It means that what is happening is a normal part of history, kind of like winter is part of every year. So are we victims of history? No. Just as we are not victims of winter. We are free to choose our actions, thoughts and those will bring consequences that will leave us victorious or defeated.  Who brought this country out of the Depression? The people. The crisis before that was the Civil War. Who helped our country overcome that challenge? The people. Who were our founding fathers and others who fought for the freedom of this great nation? People. Where is the solution for this current crisis? In each one of us. If we want us and our generations to continue to enjoy the freedoms and prosperity of this great country we must look inside ourselves and find the solutions. That is where they lie.

If we wait for the government to solve our problems we will lose our voice and our freedoms. If we blame the government we will lose our voice and freedoms. And when all is said and done what good does blame do anyway. When has blame solved anything. The solutions to the crisis we face are in each one of us. We can do it. We have to do it. Our freedom and the freedom of our posterity is at stake.

-okay that was a little lengthy, thanks for staying with me. To your success and happiness-Daneece