Do you agree? please elaborate
Responses (4)
It rather depends on how you define happiness. The one I use is that it is an internal state that you condition yourself, nobody else can do it for you. That also implies no-one else can take it away. Of course, there are many who look for somebody/something else to provide it. They may find a lot of contentment, but its not the same thing.
Thus, happily, :) it does not depend upon the state of the world, which is indeed parlous. As the saying goes, its going to hell in a handbasket. Problem is, whoever is carrying it is now starting to run!
In his famous sermon on the Mount, Jesus said "Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need" Mat. 5:3. When we fill that need, we can be truly happy despite the goings on throughout the world. In fact, knowing God's purpose for the earth and humankind(Gen. 1:28) allows us to understand why the world is in the state it is and actually gives up hope for the future, adding to our happiness.
The one who maintains a state of happiness, although the world is in chaos, is not living in delusion but rather he realizes that this world itself is a delusion. He realizes that what is happening in the world is just like a dream. Would you wake up from a nightmare and get a heart attack from what you saw? Of course not! It was just a dream, nightmare, nothing is real in a dream. The one who is enlightened, the one who realizes the truth realizes that whatever is happening in the world is just a show, we come and we go. There is a producer, director who has created the storyboard. Therefore, he remains in a state of bliss and joy. He observes the drama, not living in a delusion but living in the state of enlightenment.