by Daniel Tsunekawa

Created on: December 10, 2008   Last Updated: January 13, 2009

T.S. Eliot once said, "We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time". As we approach this Christmas season the thoughts on everyone's mind is one of the following, "what am I going to give" or "what am I going to get". Can happiness really be given to or received from another person? Can we really buy ourselves or our families "happy holidays"? In this seemingly endless struggle to find our own happy life many of us work so hard to attain the things that we deem magical or able to grant our wishes. We run towards education, jobs, lovers, houses, possessions, hoping that maybe one of them is the key. Hoping that success in any of these categories will lift us from our current state of mind, and transform us into that gracious, positive person we all know is inside of us somewhere. We may tell ourselves that we are not defined by what we have, but the truth is simply that we are defined by what we wish we could have. Working towards a career, or a loving relationship is never a bad thing. But unfortunately achievement, in the realm of happiness, only leads to another goal. Possession of one thing quickly becomes longing for another. The secret to happiness is not a secret at all. In fact many of us have always known the answer, but few will ever accept it. "to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time". Happiness is knowing what you have. That is what it has always been. Being thankful for however much or however little you possess. Advertising leads us to believe that happiness only costs $19.95! The truth is a little bit more complicated than dollars and cents however. Happiness isn't $19.95, actually it is free, but it will cost something. What it costs is the surrender of our greed. Well, words like greed, and surrender are not commonly accepted today. So how about this? We need to control our wants and balance it out with our thanks. Think of a child who, if you ask him what he wants for Christmas simply says, "I want more". Well this request is easy to achieve, because the smallest toy would be more than he had. However this request is also impossible to satisfy. Just as the smallest toy was more, the largest toy would never fill the space of more. There would always be room for more in his toy chest. In a similar way we often tell ourselves if we had more, we would want less. This year instead of rushing around to have more, it is important to focus in on having enough. Many centuries before T.S. Eliot was born the apostle Paul wrote this about the secret to happiness, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Him who gives me strength" Philippians 4:12-13

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