We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness...
Some things in life are elusive - and it's hard to teach about them, or discuss them without sounding somewhat un-realistic. The writers of our Declaration of Independence felt very strongly that God created us for a certain purpose, in which is the pursuit of happiness. Interesting that they should precede happiness with pursuit; actually it's not that amazing - happiness seems elusive, so it is to be pursued.
Interest aside, I think that pursuit was/is the wrong word to use. Pursue is too much like buy or attain, words that you use when going to the grocery or mall. Hang it all peoples, happiness is not a commodity, it's a fruit - a blessing. Does a tree think, "I want an apple, I want an apple?" No, it's too busy growing to be worried about what it's going to get. So, what am I saying? Well, I'm saying that happiness is the fruit of the right perspective. Oh, and another thing, I don't think it applies to attitude (thats cheerful, a choice so I'm told), I think it applies to life as a whole. It's not supposed to be a moment by moment thing, like Cold or Hot; so, to judge your happiness off of how your day is going is like trying to figure out how long it will take you to run to the store on the tread mill - it's not the right question to be asking.
Back to perspective...
What I mean by "right perspective" is the correct depth of focus in any given scenario. Focus too close and it's gets really...well, have you ever taken binoculars or a spotting scope and looked around the house with it? I mean it's like, "whoa, what am I looking at," and it's really hard not to be disoriented and confused. I guess that's the picture of a focus that is too close. Get too un-attached - focus too far away - and it's like inverting the spotting scope while looking out the window - you can't see anything well enough to identify it. But hey, don't get ahead of me; it's not really about balance between the two extremes - at least that isn't what we should worry about. See, God's our camera-man. He's got the perfect perspective.
And another thing. I am happiest when I am looking at my life behind, and God's will ahead. I think it works kinda like this. Bad things happen and our responses take somewhat of a logarithmic curve off them; you know, start out high and gradually lessen. Whereas good things follow an exponential path - or something similar. So, in the moment, we are often more severely affected by "bad" things (hurt, betrayal, loneliness, loss, etc) and if we have a perspective that is moment by moment, then we're in for a roller-coaster ride at least. But if we back up a bit and look behind us and we'll notice that the lights in our past are much more noticeable than the darkness. Maybe not, I suppose; it helps (maybe it's critical) to be in a relationship with God; so if your un-happy and you don't have a relationship with Him, well, you know the first thing you have to do...
Does any of this make sense?
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