Ten Thoughts on Being Happy

Ten Thoughts On Being Happy

by J. Philip Wilson

a public intellectual and cultural critic

@jphilipwilson

http://jphilipwilson.com

1. HAPPINESS, AT LEAST IN PART, COMES AS A RESULT OF BEING

AT PEACE WITH WHAT IS THE CASE. HOWEVER, ONE CAN

LEARN TO BE AT PEACE WITH ANYTHING. ONE CAN LEARN TO

HAVE PEACE INDEPENDENT OF CIRCUMSTANCE. THIS MAN

KNOWS THE SECRET THAT ALLOWS FOR HAPPINESS THAT IS

ACCESSIBLE AT ALL TIMES. HOW DOES ONE LEARN TO DO THIS?

THEY FALL IN LOVE WITH SOMETHING THAT NEVER CHANGES.

THERE AREN’T MANY THINGS THAT DON’T CHANGE.

2. MANY OF US CANNOT BE HAPPY BECAUSE WE WANT TO HAVE

BLACK AND WHITE ANSWERS. BUT WHAT IF WE EXPECT TOO

MUCH FROM THE WORLD. LET US ASSUME THAT THERE ARE

BLACK AND WHITE ANSWERS ABOUT THE WORLD. THIS IS THE

CASE. THIS IS NOT. THIS IS TRUE. THIS IS FALSE. I AM NOT

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Ten Thoughts On Being Happy, an article by public intellectual J. Philip Wilson. Read more at jphilipwilson.com or follow him on Twitter at @jphilipwilson.



QUESTIONING THIS. IT SEEMS TO ME LIKELY TO BE THE CASE.

BUT ON THIS SIDE OF CONTINGENCY WE ARE LEFT TO

PROBABILITIES. THERE IS NOT BLACK AND WHITE. BUT

INSTEAD EACH SIDE HAS EVIDENCE AND BETS MUST BE MADE

UNTIL KNOWLEDGE IS GIVEN. EVEN IF THE WORLD IS

ACTUALLY BLACK AND WHITE, WE AREN’T BLACK AND WHITE

KNOWERS, FOR THE MOST PART AT LEAST. IF YOU EXPECT

BLACK AND WHITE KNOWING AND YOU ARE WAITING FOR IT TO

HAPPEN UNTIL YOU ARE HAPPY I SUGGEST THAT YOU MIGHT

BE WAITING A WHILE. RATHER, MIGHT YOU FIND PLEASURE IN

THE MYSTERY OF FOLLOWING? IN THE GIFT OF POTENTIAL

THAT OUR LIMITED NATURE GIVES US, TO LEARN, AND GROW,

AND GAIN NEW PERSPECTIVE.

3. LIFE IS THE ATTEMPT ITSELF. YOU CANNOT WALK AROUND

SECRETLY THINKING THAT LIFE WILL BEGIN FOR YOU, OR YOU

WILL START ACTUALLY LIVING, ONCE YOU ACCOMPLISH THIS

OR THAT. IF YOU LIVE LIKE THIS YOU WILL DIE HAVING WAITED

TO BEGIN IN YOUR HEART. IN YOUR HEART YOU MUST BE IN

THE MOMENT. YOU MUST BE IN THE ATTEMPT AND EMBRACE

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THE ATTEMPT ITSELF. IF YOU ONLY FOCUS ON ACHIEVING A

GOAL YOU WILL BECOME ADDICTED TO THE ACT OF DESIRING

ITSELF AND BE UNABLE TO EVER BE FULFILLED. EMBRACE

THE ATTEMPT. EMBRACE BEING SMALL WHEN YOU ARE.

EMBRACE BEING LARGE WHEN YOU GET THERE. IF YOU GET

THERE. IF YOU WERE BORN LARGE EMBRACE BEING SMALL

WHEN AND IF YOU GET THERE. WE ALL MUST ABANDON WHAT

WE HAVE. HOWEVER, WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT THINGS. OUR

EXPERIENCES AND OUR CIRCUMSTANCES, MANY OF WHICH WE

HAD CHICES ABOUT BUT HAD NOT CHOICE WHETHER OR NOT

WE WOULD BE PUT INTO, HAVE HANDED US DIFFERENT

HANDFULS THAT MUST BE LAID DOWN AT THE FEET OF THE

ONE WHO DEMANDS WE ABANDON OURSELF TO HIM ALONE,

BECAUSE HE IS THAT CONFIDENT IN HIS ABILITY TO FULFILL

BETTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE.

4. FULFILLMENT CAN ONLY OCCUR WHEN IT HAS BEEN

QUANTIFIABLY DEFINED. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU AND I MAKE

AN AGREEMENT, A BET, LET US SAY, WE WILL WORK OUT THE

QUANTIFIABLE DETAILS OF HOW ONE WILL WIN AND LOSE AND

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WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO EACH. IN THE SAME WAY, IF WE WANT

TO BE HAPPY THEN WE MUST DEFINE WHAT HAPPINESS LOOKS

LIKE. SOME MAY BEGIN AND SAY I WILL BE HAPPY WHEN I

HAVE THIS PAID OFF AND THIS MUCH A YEAR AND THIS HOME

AND THIS WIFE AND THESE KIDS AND THIS DEGREE AND THIS

CAREER AND THIS MUCH SUPPORT RAISED AND... AND NOW, IN

LIGHT OF YOUR ATTEMPT TO DEFINE WHAT FULFILLMENT

LOOKS LIKE FOR YOU, DO YOU REALIZE THAT YOU BEGAN

IMMEDIATELY CONSTRUCTING YOUR LIFE AROUND THINGS

THAT CAN BE LOST? NOW, THAT IS FINE IF YOU WANT YOUR

HAPPINESS TO BE DEPENDENT UPON THINGS THAT MUST

NECESSARILY LEAVE, AKA HAVE YOUR HAPPINESS LEAVE AT

SOME POINT. HOWEVER, IT IS NOW THAT I WANT YOU TO INVITE

YOU TO MAKE YOUR QUANTIFIABLE FULFILLMENT DEPENDENT

UPON SOMETHING THAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED.

5. GOD’S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE IS THAT YOU LOVE HIM AND LOVE

OTHERS THE SAME WAY YOU LOVE YOURSELF. IF YOU ARE

DOING THIS YOU ARE FULFILLING HIS PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE.

IF YOU ARE FULFILLING HIS PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE YOU

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SHOULD FEEL FULFILLED. NOW AT ANY MOMENT, YOU WHO

HAVE A WILL, WHICH IS EVERYONE, CAN BEGIN DOING THE

WILL OF GOD FOR YOUR LIFE, LOVING HIM AND LOVING

OTHERS, BY A SIMPLE CHOICE. THAT MEANS THAT YOU CAN

CHOOSE TO BE FULFILLED. THAT MEANS, THAT IF HAPPINESS

COMES WITH FULFILLMENT, YOU CAN CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY NO

MATTER WHAT. IT TAKES ONE RENEWING THEIR MIND THOUGH

SO THAT THEY CAN FOCUS ON LOVING HIM AND LOVING

OTHERS MORE AND MORE AND MORE, AND NEVER LEAVE

FROM DOING HIS WILL, BEING FULFILLED, AND BEING HAPPY.

6. SUDDENLY HAPPINESS WILL EXIST INDEPENDENT OF

CIRCUMSTANCE. IT DOESN’T MEAN THE WORLD WILL LEAVE.

THE STRUGGLE WILL NOT END. GET USED TO IT. THE ONLY WAY

TO OVERCOME THE STRUGGLE IS TO FIND SOMETHING OUTSIDE

OF THE STRUGGLE TO FOCUS ON, POSSIBLY ONE WHO HAS

OVERCOME THE STRUGGLE. IT DOESN’T MEAN IT LEAVES. IT

MEANS THAT YOU ARE HARDLY AFFECTED. YOU ARE

UNTOUCHABLE.

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7. I ALWAYS HEAR PEOPLE SAY, “JONATHAN, I DON’T KNOW WHAT

I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE!” LET ME TELL YOU WHAT THIS

PRESUPPOSES AND THEN SHOW YOU HOW FUNNY THAT

SOUNDS. IT IS POSSIBLE TO CAUSE THE QUESTIONS TO

DISSOLVE RATHER THAN ANSWERING THEM, THIS IS THE SIGN

OF A GOOD THINKER. IT INVOLVES SHOWING THE

PRESUPPOSITIONS AND THEN REALIZING THAT THEY SHOULD

NOT BE HELD, MAYBE BECAUSE OF A LACK OF EXISTENTIAL

RELEVANCE, LOGICAL CONSISTENCY, OR EMPIRICAL

ADEQUACY. ASSUME I WERE TO SAY, “I DON’T KNOW WHAT I

WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE.” THIS PRESUPPOSES THAT WE ARE

TRYING TO FIND A SINGLE WANT THAT SORT OF EXISTS AND IS

WAITING TO BE FOUND THROUGH SOME SORT OF SEARCH AND

THE DECIDED UPON ONCE REALIZED. I MIGHT SUGGEST

THOUGH THAT, AGAIN, WE ARE EXPECTING TOO MUCH FROM

THE WORLD EPISTEMOLOGICALLY, I WOULD TAKE A MUCH

MORE MODEST EPISTEMOLOGY, NEARLY CARTESIAN IT SEEMS,

AND SAY THAT THIS ISN’T THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS. WE

ARE CHIEFLY DECISION MAKERS. WE HAVE A WILL.

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THERE IS NOT ONE WANT THAT IS WAITING TO BE FOUND.

THERE ARE ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND WANTS INSIDE OF

US. I WANT TO BE A WRITER. I WANT TO BE A MISSIONARY.

I WANT TO BE FAMOUS. I DON’T WANT TO BE FAMOUS. I’M

NORMAL. I’M SPECIAL. I’M NEAR GOD. I’M FAR FROM GOD.

IT IS NOT THAT THERE IS ONE WANT THAT IS WAITING TO

BE FOUND. INSTEAD WE ARE DECISION MAKING PEOPLE.

GIVEN THE POWER OF A WILL. WE ARE GIVEN THE

RESPONSIBILITY OF CHOOSING OUR OWN DESTINY,

INDEPENDENT OF HOW FREE OR NOT THAT WILL MIGHT

BE, AS THIS IS MEANT TO AVOID ALL DISCUSSIONS OF

DETERMINISM AND LIBERTARIANISM. IF YOU WANT TO

BE A GOOD STEWARD OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY THEN IT

SEEMS THAT YOU SHOULD MAKE A FEW DECISIONS.

DECISIVENESS IS A GUAGE OF THE STRENGTH OF ONE’S

WILL. IT IS THE MUSCLE OF THE WILL. AND ONE CAN

STRENGTHEN IT BY CONSTANTLY STRETCHING IT AND

USING IT MORE AND MORE. IT IS THE IMAGE OF GOD IN

YOU. THE ABILITY TO DECIDE THINGS AND BEGIN NEW

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CAUSAL CHAINS OF EVENTS, NEW ACTUAL WORLDS FROM

THE MANY POSSIBLE WORLDS YOU COULD CREATE AT

ANYTIME WITH A FEW BAD OR GOOD DECISIONS. SO DON’T

SAY, “I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WANT.” EVERYONE KNOWS

WHAT THEY WANT. THEY WANT CHEETO’S. THEY WANT A

RIBEYE STEAK. THEY WANT TO BE WITH THE POOR,

LIVING AMONG THEM. THEY WANT TO BE WITH THE RICH,

IN THEIR BIG CARS. THEY WANT TO TRY. THEY WANT TO

GIVE UP. YOU WANT ONE BILLION THINGS. YOU WANT ONE

BILLION THINGS. BUT YOU MUST REALIZE THAT CULTURE

HAS TAUGHT YOU THAT PRODUCTIVITY IS SOMETHING TO

BE SAUGHT. AS A RESULT YOU EXPECT THE RESULTS THAT

CAN ONLY COME FROM MAKING A DECISION AT A YOUNG

AGE AND STICKING TO IT, NOT BECAUSE YOU KNOW IT IS

THE ONE THING YOU WANT, BUT BECAUSE YOU KNOW

THAT THERE IS NO ONE THING YOU WANT, BUT THAT IF

YOU WERE GOING TO GO GET ANYTHING THAT YOU WANT,

YOU WOULD HAVE TO CHOOSE ONE AND EXCLUDE 100

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BEAUTIFUL OTHERS, BECAUSE THAT IS THE WAY LIFE

WORKS.

8. HE SUPPOSEDLY CAME SO THAT WE COULD HAVE LIFE

ABUNDANTLY. HOWEVER, WE MUST REALIZE THAT THE MAN

SAYING THIS WAS NOT A MEGA PREACHER. HE WAS A

HOMELESS MAN. A WANDERING SOUL WHO HAD ABANDONED

HIS TRADE OF CARPENTRY. WHO HAD BEEN RAISED IN LIGHT

OF A WILD MYSTERY AND LEGEND, THE CENTRAL FIGURE

BEING HIM. EVERYONE KNEW YOUNG JESUS WAS SUPPOSEDLY

BORN OF A VIRGIN. THAT MARY SAID SHE HAD NEVER BEEN

WITH A MAN. SHE NAMED HIM JESUS BECAUSE SHE WAS TOLD

TO. BUT JESUS WAS A YOUNG BOY WHO GREW IN KNOWLEDGE.

WE DO NOT THINK THAT GOD IN ALL OF HIS OMNIPOTENCE WAS

INSIDE OF THE BODY OF CHRIST BUT WAS MAKING HIMSELF

COO LIKE A CHILD IN ORDER TO ENTERTAIN US. HE WASN’T

ACTING. HE WAS ACTUALLY A CHILD WITH LIMITED IN

KNOWLEDGE, THOUGH PHILOSOPHICALLY HE DID ESSENTIALLY

HAVE ACCESS TO IT, MOST THEOLOGIANS TODAY WOULD SAY,

ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHERS AS WELL. HE HAD TO COME TO THE

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KNOWLEDGE OF HIS CALLING TO BE THE MESSIAH THAT

ISAIAH PROPHESIED WOULD COME. THERE IS A STORY IN ONE

OF THE GNOSTIC GOSPELS, THE ONE FROM THOMAS, THOUGH IT

WASN’T REALLY FORM THOMAS MOST SCHOLARS DON’T THINK,

THAT IS WHY IT WASN’T INCLUDED IN THE CANON. HOWEVER,

IT TELLS A STORY, THAT WHETHER TRUE OR NOT, IS

INTERESTING AND PAINTS A WHAT I THINK IS A BEAUTIFUL

PICTURE. JESUS IS BY THE RIVER SHAPING CLAY PIGEONS AND

THE OTHER CHILDREN ARE WITH HIM. YOUNG JESUS,

UNAWARE OF WHY HE HAS THESE POWERS, KNOWING THAT HE

IS SUPPOSEDLY SPECIAL, IS CONFRONTED BY HIS EARTHLY

“FATHER” JOSPEH AND JESUS CLAPS HIS HANDS TWICE TELLS

THE CLAY PIGEONS TO COME TO LIFE AND FLY AWAY AND THEY

DO AS HE RUNS AWAY FROM JOSEPH CHASING AFTER HIM

UPSET FOR DOING MIRACLES ON THE SABBATH. TO ME, EVEN IF

IT ISN’T TRUE, AND IT COULD BE FOR ME, IT WOULDN’T AFFECT

ME THEOLOGICALLY, IT PAINTS A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE OF

CHRIST’S HUMANITY. YOU REALIZE THAT HE WAS REALLY LIKE

US AND GREW TO REALIZE THAT HE IN FACT HAD BEEN WITH

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THE FATHER BEFORE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH. AND

HE WAS A CARPENTER FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE. IT WAS THIS

JESUS WE WERE TOLD TO IMITATE. A JESUS WHO VERY MUCH

WAS A PERSON, A PART OF THE WORLD, A NORMAL MAN. NOT A

FREAK. BUT ONE WHO DID BEGIN TEACHING A DIFFERENT

DOCTRINE, SOMETHING SO HERETICAL THAT THEY CRUCIFIED

HIM FOR IT. THIS IS THE PICTURE OF THE MAN WHO IS TELLING

US HE CAME TO GIVE US LIFE ABUNDANTLY. HE IS NOT A RICH

MAN ON AN INFOMERCIAL. HE IS TELLING YOU THAT YOU CAN

HAVE LIFE ABUNDANTLY AND HE HAS TO RELY ON YOU AND

THE MIRACULOUS FOR HIS FOOD. ABUNDANCE IS OBVIOUSLY

NOT MEANT TO BE EQUATED TO MATERIAL WEALTH.

ABUNDANCE IS HAD IN BEING RECONCILED TO GOD, WHICH IS

WHAT YOU ARE IN CHRIST JESUS. NOW BEGIN LIVING A

RECONCILED LIFE OF THE SPIRIT, WHERE YOU DENY THE

FLESH WITH THIS NEW AUTHORITY, AND BEGIN OPERATING IN

THE SPIRIT.

9. WE ARE CONSUMERS. ALL DAY EVERY DAY THE WORLD TELLS

US THAT WE NEED ONE MORE THING IN ORDER TO BE HAPPY,

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BEAUTIFUL, SKINNY, RICH, OR LOVED AND FAMOUS. WHEN

CONSUMERS COME IN CONTACT WITH A GOD WHO SAYS I LOVE

YOU DESPITE ALL OF THAT, BECAUSE ALL OF THAT IS

DETESTABLE TO ME, WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO OPERATE. WE

ARE SO CENTRALLY PERFORMANCE ORIENTED THAT FAITH, A

RESULT OF OUR INABILITY TO PERFORM, IS VERY HARD TO

REALIZE IN OUR MIND. THOUGH WE UNDERSTAND FAITH AND

NOT WORKS THEOLOGICALLY, WE DO NOT REALIZE IT

MENTALLY. WE STILL THINK WE ARE SUCCESSFUL OR NOT

BASED ON WHAT WE DO OR DON’T DO, OR WE ARE IMPORTANT

BECASE YOU COMPLETE OR DON’T COMPLETE THAT. WE PUT

OUR FAITH IN JESUS SO THAT WE DON’T HAVE TO PERFORM.

HOWEVER, DOING SO MAKES US NEW IN SOME ODD WAY, AND

WE ARE GIVEN AUTHORITY OVER THE AFFECTS OF DEATH, AND

CAN WALK ACCORDING TO THE NEW SPIRIT IN THAT

AUTHORITY OVER DEATH, IN LIFE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS IF WE

CHOOSE TO EXERCISE OUR MINDS, RENEWING THEM

INTENTIONALLY.

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10.YOU NEED TO REALIZE THAT GOD DOESN’T VALUE YOU

BECAUSE YOU ARE EFFICIENT OR PRODUCTIVE OR SUCCESSFUL

OR BEAUTIFUL OR SINLESS OR SINFUL OR POOR OR RICH. HE

VALUES YOU BECAUSE IT IS HIS NATURE, AND HE HAS

RECONCILED US NOW TO HIMSELF, HOPING THAT WE NOW FEEL

OUR WAY TOWARD HIM AND WALK WITH HIM AGAIN IN THE

GARDEN, THAT IS TO SAY THAT WE WALK WITH HIM

THROUGHOUT THE PLACE WHERE WE ARE GOING INTO AND

DWELLING IN, THE PLACE MAYBE WHERE WE HAVE CHOSE TO

OBEY HIS COMMAND, TO GO FORTH AND MULTIPLY, THE

ORIGINAL COMMAND TO THE HUMAN RACE. THIS MEANS THAT

AT ANY POINT YOU CAN CHOOSE TO SEE YOURSELF AS GOD

SEES YOU AND FIND YOUR VALUE IN THAT WITH YOUR WILL,

THOUGH IT MIGHT NEED STRENGTHENING IN ORDER TO LIVE IN

THAT PLACE CONSTANTLY, FOR THE WORLD IS CONSTANTLY

TELLING YOU TO BE DISCONTENT, AND GOD IS CALLING YOU TO

NOW REST IN HIM. WHEN HE SAID IT IS FINISHED HE MEANT IT.

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Ten Thoughts on Being Happy