True Happiness And Where To Find It

by Rev. Fr. Narciso Irala S.J.

Happiness of this life is necessarily limited and imperfect. False happiness invitations to pleasures, riches, fun; but happiness is not there. Echoes whisper to us from deep in its interior: "Vacuum, upset, disgust". Riches do not satisfy. Nor should we confuse pleasure with happiness. By equivocating them, many have surrendered to vice, and found degradation, disgust, sickness, remorse, premature death and a likelihood of eternal damnation. Amusements and rounds of entertainment promise but do not bring us real fulfilment. There are so many young people who live without an ideal and feel deeply the vacuum of their lives. They would have done well to fill their lives with the satisfaction of duty done, or sacrifice for a noble cause. But they are satisfied to mask it with a series of amusements or drown it in coarse laughter or wild excitement. None of these roads lead to happiness.

True happiness is like a noble lady, calm and collected, who dwells in the interior of the soul's castle, knowing her real treasures and growing in appreciation of them. She is often seen externally through the window of the face when she clothes the human face with a smile. Her smile is the bright vesture of a rational being, something had neither by the animals nor the most beautiful flowers.

True happiness hides from us whenever we go after it out of egoism or devotion to our own personal convenience. But it comes running to meet us whenever we put aside and, embracing what is noble, devote ourselves to duty, virtue, the good of our neighbour, God. External events scarcely affect this at all. These can certainly upset us if we meet them unwisely. But an intelligent appraisal of our external life situations should bring us resignation, peace, and joy instead of resentment, upset, and melancholy. The wise and happy person discovers the inner meaning of everything and every situation. He relates its value to help it can give us in glorifying our infinitely good Creator and attaining another, eternal and perfect, kind of happiness.

Happiness is noble and unselfish. Happiness is calm and collected. There is no happiness in agitation and chaos. Happiness is found in the innermost part of a rational being. It is a deep satisfaction and unshakable peace. Happiness is not caused by external events. For the same outcome may bring resignation, peace and joy to some, and sad despair to others. The Lady of the castle knows and appreciates her real treasures and increases them. Here we have the three psychical factors in true happiness. The first factor has to do with our mind or thoughts. By it we know or think about the great good had or so to be had by us, and about the ways to increase it. The second factor is executive. By love, action and decision we preserve and even increase that treasure. The third factor is connected with our feelings and emotions. By it we feel and appreciate our treasures. It is a matter of living, really living. The nobler and more active the life, the greater its happiness.