As I browse through classic literature sections in a public library, I came across a very interesting ‘daily dozen’ by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was a personal creed in his pursuit of happiness that he made since the day of his young age. Let me share it with you;
- Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things.
- Make the best of your circumstances. No one has everything, and everyone has something of sorrow intermingled with the gladness of life. The trick is to make the laughter outweigh the tears.
- Don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t think that somehow you should be protected from misfortunes that befall others.
- You can’t please everybody. Don’t let criticism worry you.
- Don’t let your neighbor set your standards. Be yourself.
- Do the things you enjoy doing, but stay out of debt. [Mine added: Do the things you enjoy doing, really enjoy! But stay away from sinful acts.]
- Don’t borrow trouble. Imaginary burdens are harder to bear than the actual ones. [I think what he meant is this: See thing (events of your life etc.) as it is, not to over imagine it. Correct me if I'm wrong~]
- Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish enmities or grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy.
- Have many interests. If you can’t travel, read about new places.
- Don’t hold postmortems. Don’t spend your life brooding over sorrows and mistakes. Don’t be one who never gets over things.
- Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.
- Keep busy at something. A busy person never has time to be unhappy. [Mine added: I think what good for us is not to ‘keep busy’, for whenever the word ‘busy’ appeared – I imagined fast-forward old movie show. How about if I paraphrase it this way: “Do something productive. A person who has something to do never has time to be unhappy.”]
People around the world are looking for happiness. But happiness is not a matter of good fortune or worldly possessions, rather a person with a certain set of attitudes (like the ‘daily dozen’ above) that are truly happy. It comes from appreciating what we have, instead of being miserable about what we don’t have. Charles H. Spurgeon once writes, “It’s not how much we have but how much we enjoy that makes happiness.”
Bits & Pieces (©1996 The Economics Press, Inc.) published a very profound example to illustrate human search for happiness:
‘Happiness is like a butterfly.
The more you chase it, the more it will elude you.
But if you turn your attention to other things,
it comes and softly sits on your shoulder.’
The more you chase it, the more it will elude you.
But if you turn your attention to other things,
it comes and softly sits on your shoulder.’
THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.
In the end, it is ‘the enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.’ (Jonathan Edwards, The Christian Pilgrim)
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