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The Unhappiness Formula

A lifetime ago I was at Cooper's Rock in West Virginia. The view of the tree covered Appalachian Mountains was stunning. I stood there overwhelmed and dumbstruck. Being outside in the mountains or a forest or the beach leaves me feeling connected to God in a way that a church has never been able to mimic. In this hallowed moment of personal worship, someone uttered the most ridiculous statement I think I've ever heard.

"When I look at that, I think to myself, 'Wow, that's a lot of trees.'"

We all laughed.

This statement still pops into my head from time to time, and it did the other night as I listened to a talk radio show. (I'm addicted to talk radio the way some people are addicted to reality t.v.) The host was talking about some study that found a formula for unhappiness. Basically, we are unhappy when our idea of what our life should be is different from it's reality. Okay, so it was another "that's a lot of trees" statement, but it resonated with me, and I think you will all agree with it. After all, who includes in their life plan sickness and divorce and betrayal and heartache and stress? Generally speaking, all of these can send our happiness meter into the negative.

Life rarely turns out exactly the way we plan, so I wonder how it is that any of us find happiness. According to this theory, we have to adjust our thinking. As long as I sit here and fixate my thoughts on the way my life is a flawed deviation from my plans, I will never move on to the place where I can find the joy in the moment around me. Once again, I find myself face to face with (1) accepting the moment as it is, warts and all; (2) clinging to what is true in my life; and (3) adjusting the scope of my life's lens to the light and texture of the moment.

Just for fun...
We had some neighbors visit us last week. I was taping the windows (getting ready for painting) when I saw a small herd of sheep and goats, including 2 lambs, amble through the front gate. They made themselves at home, chomping away at our now overgrown front yard. My camera was in the car, and before I could get out to pick it up, the dogs saw our guests. The biggest goat looked up at the house, straightened his ears, and left. The others followed. I guess we really do live in the country.

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Christy said…
Your visitors? Fantastic.
6:27 PM
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