Does every human have the potential to create happiness. Happiness. The fibromyalgia of the emotions. My gram used to say “you will be as happy as you make up your mind to be”. So I guess it depends. Take the novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, an inspirational poverty story created from a harsh reality and the visual of a flower springing forth up through a crack in the pavement, beauty in all its glory finds its way through the grayest of circumstances. It always has. It always will. those who need to see it are drawn to its color. It is a beacon that speaks to our soul.
So to is happiness. It can be found and created in the same manner in ourselves, for ourselves. And then shared as all lights are a beacon in the dark It can be found in the same manner. If one can look beyond the present circumstances (and present because “happiness” tends to be circumstance driven for the emotionally immature) it is plausible to find joy or peace or contentment in the midst.
Job. The woebegone of the Bible. His story shared that bad things do happen to good people and that suffering is not always a punishment and certainly not a matter of being deserving. And sometimes bad things happen just because they happen. No master plan. And I hear the lyrics "roll with it baby" by Steve Winwood.
When life is too much, roll with it, baby Don't stop and lose your touch, oh no, baby Hard times knocking on your door I'll tell them you ain't there no more Get on through it, roll with it, baby...
Job suffered extreme trauma and had the absolute worst friends to "comfort" him. They actually oppressed him with their concern and rationalization in their explanations. In all the bad luck and trauma that poor old Job suffered, he maintained his innocence. He did not accept becoming a victim. And you know what he got for his trouble? He got the respect of God! Yes God! And you know what else I learned in the story of Jobs troubles? Not once did he blame the devil who started all of it. Job only had eyes for God. He refused to ruminate on the problems and tried his best to live the life dealt to him.
So yes... happiness... it depends. Happiness is a creative experience we choose to make. And as all created things begins with a task of sort, happiness too requires the first step of sacrificing drama, melancholy, woe, self, presumptions, etc.
Bloom anyways. Own your story.
Comments