Happiness is a Myth

What if I told you everything you thought you knew about happiness is wrong? The truth is happiness is a myth and an illusion that is overrated.  It is like chasing after a butterfly. The more you pursue it, the more it eludes you, and the moment you catch it is the moment it begins to die. 

So, from whence came the word happy?

According to The Oxford English Dictionary, the first record of the word was around 1350, from Middle English, "a form of the English language spoken after the Norman conquest (1066) until the late 15th century," which is a derivative of the Old Norse "happ," meaning "luck" or "chance." It combined "the word hap, meaning "a person's luck or lot," and the suffix –y, meaning "characterized by," to form diminutive nouns and adjectives denoting a state, condition, or quality. 

Then, in essence, when someone says, "I want to be happy," they are really saying that they want someone else's lot or chance.

It is the act of selfish pursuit. Happy pursuers always talk about what they want: I want to be happy. I deserve to be happy. Happiness for them is self-serving: always concerned with what "I" or the ego wants. These people will never be satisfied with life or their circumstances, no matter what it is, because they are greedy, selfish and self-serving.

The truth is, most people who seek happiness are miserable and selfish. Why? Because they are constantly thinking about themselves and how 'they' can be happy. They very rarely, if any at all, think about other people's feelings, needs or wants: me, myself and I mentality. 

Many will even have the audacity to tell you that God wants us to be happy. But the shocking reality is that nowhere in the golden texts says that. 

Some may point you to the Beatitudes, sing you a whole song, and dance about what it means. The truth is, the Roman Catholic Church canonized the word "blessed" in the mid-16th century to mean 'supremely happy' or recognized by others. It derives from the Old French word beatifier (to sanctify or consecrate) or the Ecclesiastical (Christian Church or clergies) Latin beatificare, or beatus.'  Now, we use 'blessed' flippantly to mean "blissfully happy or contented."

Coincidentally, the word blessed has its roots in the Hebrew term "Baruch," which means to be "in an enviable [or desirable] position for receiving God's provisions (favour)" –and grace. 

As you can see, it has nothing to do with the modern concept of happiness — worldly pleasure-seeking and insatiable merriment or having all that money can buy.  That is more aligned with debauchery — excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures and turpitude—depravity, corruption and wickedness. 

Hence it is a false-positive term which incorrectly suggests that a cheerful, optimistic or flattering condition or attribute is present.

In a sermon (Matthew 5:3-12) delivered by Christ on the plain of Mount Beatitudes (a hill on the shore of Lake Galilee), Jesus recited eight instances of blessedness. They are as follows: 

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit: (not the poor, but the "poor in spirit" meaning those who are humble) - for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2. Blessed are they that mourn: (those who experience regret or sadness over a loss, mainly the death of loved ones) - for they shall be comforted.
3. Blessed are the meek: (those who are quiet, gentle and are easily preyed upon) - for they shall inherit the land. That implies that those who forgo worldly happiness will gain the power to govern the earth due to their ability to remain subdued in disorderly situations and bring our chaotic life into harmony and truth.
4. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness (those who seek to do what is right or pursue justice): for they shall be filled.
5. Blessed are the merciful (those who seek to bring relief to the suffering -they are considered forgiving, compassionate or lenient): for they shall obtain mercy.
6. Blessed are the pure of heart (sincere - do things with the right motives or free of pretense): for they shall see God.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers (those who seek to reconcile or intercede on other's behalf to bring about resolve or freedom from war or chaos): for they shall be called children of God.
8. Blessed are those who are reviled (insulted), persecuted (ill-treatment or hostility; oppressed or abused), and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake.

Then He culminated them by saying, "Rejoice (be happy or show delight) and be glad (well-pleased), because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (New King James Version NKJV). 

Hedonistic people will conflate greed and self-indulgence with being happy and positive when they, in fact, lack accountability for seeking delight at the expense of others. What the golden texts mean by blessed or happy and what the world means by it are two different things - to be blessed or "happy" means to be in one of the eight positions laid out above to receive God's gifts and grace. So, if saying you want to be happy means you want to bless someone, then, by all means, be happy. Happiness must take the form of love for one's neighbour and not just self, for happiness is a byproduct of genuinely loving, serving and caring about others, not lavishly seeking to indulge in one's own pleasure as a way of life. 

References:

The Oxford Dictionary

The Bible