Happiness Is…
“Blue and green should often be seen,” I quoted as I opened the hotel room balcony to the stunning view of the sun-splashed Coral Sea in tropical Queensland. I had learned that little mantra from the book Live More Happy by Dr. Darren Morton that outlined 5 principles of happiness. It basically means, go out in nature – because uplifting physical environments are clinically proven to make us feel better.
Although it was only for 3 days, we were able to immerse ourselves in blues and greens – the lagoon, Green Island, the beach, the stunning waterfall at Barron Gorge… and we were happy.
There’s a song memorialised by Lea Salonga and Charlie Brown that I love:
.. Happiness is two kinds of ice cream
Finding your skate key, telling the time
Happiness is learning to whistle
Tying your shoe for the very first time…
Happiness is being alone every now and then
And happiness is coming home again
Happiness is morning and evening
Daytime and nighttime, too
For happiness is anyone and anything at all
That’s loved by you…
Last week I learned that happiness is…
Playing without caring about getting wet.
Learning to do new things.
Finding a patch of green grass and rolling around on it.
Cuddles and kisses.
Sunshine and shade.
And always, always ice cream.
But even after the holidays were over, and we returned to the pilot announcing that the weather in Melbourne was wet, windy and 9 degrees, we had the memories.
And we had new things to look forward to and new reasons to remember that happiness can be found in the little things, in the little ways, when we pause to enjoy what God has already given us.
Paul, one of the early Christian missionaries, wrote to his church friends in the city of Corinth, Greece around 53 AD:
“Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything” (2 Corinthians 6:10 NLT).
What was the secret to Paul’s happiness?
“We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. 6 We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. 7 We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. 8 We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us….” (2 Corinthians 6:5-8)
“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ…10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead..” (Philippians 3:8,10)
So despite circumstances, challenges, cranky characters and even the cold climate, we can find happiness today – in the blue and green nature that resonate of the Creator, in anyone and anything that’s loved by you, and above all in knowing that our Redeemer lives.
by: Jinha Kim
"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14