QUOTE: If you are constantly thinking, "If I had here figure," "his build," "their marriage," "his level of success," "their kids," "her opportunities" then you will never be happy.

QUOTE: If you have the joy of God in your heart – notify your face.

Not in Unbelief - Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: "I wish I had never been born."

Not in Pleasure - Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: "The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone."

Not in Money - Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth "

Not in Position and Fame - Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: "Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret."

Not in Military Glory - Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, because he said, "There are no more worlds to conquer."

M. Scott Peck, the famous Christian psychotherapist, tells an interesting story that demonstrates that people often refuse to have joy in life and fun at their jobs because serving other people appears to be a big bother. He tells of a young woman who became one of his patients. This particular woman was suffering from acute depression and was failing to respond to any form of therapy or other treatment. Dr. Peck was just about to give up on this case when the young woman surprised him one day bouncing into his office, her face aglow with excitement. When he asked her why she was feeling so good, the young woman explained that on the way to her appointment she had enjoyed a very happy experience. She explained that her car had broken down so she had called her pastor and asked if he could help her get to her therapy appointment. Her pastor told her that he would be glad to drive her to her appointment if she did not mind his making a few hospital calls on the way. When the pastor got to the hospital, he invited her to go in with him and then suggested that she spend her waiting time visiting and praying with some of the patients. She told how she visited several patients and tried to speak words of encouragement to them. She prayed with several of the patients, and they, in turn, showed great appreciation for her concern. It was this self-giving service that had given her such an emotional lift.

Dr. Peck then pointed out the good news. They now knew what she could do to keep from being depressed. Surprisingly, the young woman responded, "You don't expect me to do that every day, do you?" She knew what to do to get rid of her depression and to make her life fun, and yet she refused to do it. But before we become too surprised at her foolishness, should we not ask whether many of us have made similar decisions? Is it not true that many of us are too lazy to do those self-giving deeds that would make our lives fun?

HAPPINESS IS... R.Digest 10/94 p. 180

Lounging in my lawn chair one Sunday-the newspapers stacked next to me, the cats arranged in comma shapes on the grass, the sun dappling the leaves in light and shade-I thought to myself: This is it. Pure happiness. Not the blockbuster kind of happiness that we spend so much time searching for in love, work and a good haircut-but the smaller, more dependable happiness that lies coiled, just ready to be sprung in ordinary moments.

If happiness is as easy as this, I thought, why is it so difficult to stay happy for a long period? Is there something about the human condition that directs us away from being happy? Or do we mistakenly think of happiness as a permanent resident in our lives, rather than a visitor who comes and goes?

Happy moments-those moments when you feel fully alive-certainly exist. They swim by us every day like shining, silver fish waiting to be caught. When I surveyed my friends, what I hauled in on the subject turned out to be the small fish of happiness, not the big denizens of the deep. They said happiness is... .

Coming home to see the answering-machine light blinking

Triumphs by my kids, triumphs by me.

Blue Mountain coffee, freshly brewed.

Long drives by yourself.

Waking up without the alarm.

Seeing someone you love after a long absence.

Ultimately, what's so wonderful about happiness is that even when you're not searching for it, it can find you. How else can I explain the feeling I had when a small boy came up to me in the supermarket and told me he liked my shoes?

I felt happy. -Alice Steinbach in Baltimore Sun

QUOTE: Success is getting what you want. Happiness is liking what you get. Jackson Brown, A Father's Book of Wisdom (Rutledge Hill) FROM: March 1995 R.Digest page 29

An anonymous friar in a Nebraska monastery wrote the following late in life: "If I had my life to live over again, I'd try to make more mistakes next time. I would relax, I would limber up, I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take more trips. I would be crazier. I would climb more mountains, swim more rivers, and watch more sunsets. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. If I had to do it over again I would go places, do things, and travel lighter. If I had my life to live over I would start barefooted earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would ride on more merry-go-rounds. I'd pick more daisies."

Sometimes we are dependent on THINGS to bring happiness to us. But we never have enough things to make us happy. Abe Lincoln was seen walking along with his 2 boys, who were fighting and jawing at one another. "What's wrong with them?", a friend asked. "Oh, I have 3 walnuts in my pocket and both of them want two."

Sometimes we are dependent on PEOPLE for our joy. Warren Weirsbe tells us of his young daughter jumping off the school bus, slamming her way thru the front door, marching up the stairs to her room, and again slamming the door. All the time she was muttering under her breath, "People - people - people - people!" Weirsbe said he went to her door and knocked softly. "May I come in?" "NO!" Again he tried to enter, "May I come in?" She answered more belligerently: "NO!" Then Weirsbe asked why. Her answer, "Because you're a people." People, even those closest to us don't always make us happy.

Tillich notes there are three anxieties of modern man that no amount of money or prestige can erase: The anxiety about death, the sense of purposelessness of life, and finally anxiety over guilt. Sometimes, affluent, moral people appear to be confident, so together, that we feel intimidated by them, but that confident exterior is often just a covering over inner turmoil and emptiness."

LONGFELLOW'S PRESCRIPTION FOR HAPPINESS Pulpit Helps 6/92 p.12

The famous poet Longfellow was once asked how he managed to have a long and happy life.

Pointing to an apple tree, the writer remarked, "The secret of the apple tree is that it grows a little new wood each year. That's what I try to do." No matter what age you are, it's important to grow spiritually each day, each month, each year.

QUOTE: For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the Universe. - Larry Eisenberg for "Bulletin Boarders" (C.S.S.)

POEM ON LIFE R.Digest 5/76 p.168

Life itself can't give you joy

Unless you really will it;

Life just gives you time and space

It's up to you to fill it.

1. Sing a song in the shower.

2. Tell someone how much you appreciate them.

3. Watch the sun set.

4. Smile for no reason.

5. Think.

6. Laugh out loud.

7. Ask an older person what they think.

8. Blow up a balloon.

9. Learn a new word.

10. Share you favorite song with co-workers.

11. Hum a favorite song.

12. Visit a museum.

13. Watch children play.

14. Encourage someone.

15. Pick up litter.

16. Whistle.

17. Take a flower to a friend.

18. Correct a mistake, even if it's not yours.

19. Yodel.

20. Forgive someone.

21. Make faces in the mirror.

22. Visit a lonely person.

23. Listen to night sounds.

24. Consider other people's good points.

25. Dance a little jig.

26. Lend an ear.

27. Read a poem aloud.

28. Give someone a compliment.

29. Look at the stars.

30. Learn something new.

Kaufmann Kohler states in the Jewish Encyclopedia that no language has as many words for joy and rejoicing as does Hebrew. In the Old Testament thirteen Hebrew roots, found in twenty-seven different words, are used primarily for some aspect of joy or joyful participation in religious worship.

Hebrew religious ritual demonstrates God as the source of joy. In contrast to the rituals of other faiths of the East, Israelite worship was essentially a joyous proclamation and celebration. The good Israelite regarded the act of thanking God as the supreme joy of his life. Pure joy is joy in God as both its source and object. The psalmist says, "Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fullness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures forevermore". (Psalm 16:11)