Happiness - Life in Balance
When we try to describe happiness - not happiness as a state of elation, but happiness as a state of being - perhaps the words peaceful or balanced
come to mind or other beautiful words that make us feel right with
ourselves and with life. When life is in balance we are at one with
ourselves, with one another and with a Presence greater than ourselves;
our energy flows freely, and we are fully connected, fully alive. We
know intuitively that our true happiness can not be purchased and
that no one else can give it to us. Discovering its gentle presence is the work each one of us must do within the space of his or her own
heart.Spaciousness
Our work begins with discovering the good heart attitudes and our decision to put them into play. Waves of energy, these attitudes, once activated, expand the heart's capacity. There is a lightness and a spaciousness about them, and, like tuning forks, they resonate to what we know to be true, namely that they are spiritual gifts and that, by grace, we can find them within our own being whenever they are needed.
The attitudes that bring true happiness are learned; no one is born grateful or forgiving, but we are all born with the capacity for gratitude and the capacity for forgiveness. Life is not easy, and at one time or another events and circumstances upset the balance in our lives and bring us down. When we call on them, the good heart attitudes, like resident angels, pick us up, restore balance, make us strong and help us to maintain true happiness. Their energy is amazing, and the quality and the meaning of our life is never greater than when they are in play. Another word for true and lasting happiness is blessedness.
Happiness is a gift of God
The good heart attitudes are among life's most precious gifts. We did not create the attitudes that lead to blessedness, but we are responsible for calling them into action. It is a matter of choice.
So we call them into action by ourselves?
Yes, by ourselves, but we are never alone: there are those who testify that the second we activate the good, we are joined by a Presence beyond ourselves; that we are instantly a team, a couplement, and that once this happens, everything is grace. Placing our hope in the goodness of God, we step out in faith, trusting in the goodness of these gifts to fulfill their purpose.
All the way to Heaven is Heaven
Catherine of Siena tells us that "The path to heaven lies through heaven, and all the way to heaven is heaven." When we view the expansion of the heart's capacity as our spiritual work, our inheritance, our journey and our destination, we long to fulfill our God-given nature, long to activate the divine energies that have been placed within us: gratitude, forgiveness, compassion, to name but a few.
Limitless as the Stars
Heart attitudes, like the hearts of the persons in whom they are formed, are limitless as the stars, but, like snowflakes (and like all persons) there are no two exactly alike.
How to recognize those attitudes that are our true friends:
- They are humble. There's a kind of self-forgetfulness about them but never a forgetfulness of others.
- They unite us to the world around us, to each other, and to our own life's purpose.
- They bear fruit that serves and honors God.
- They expand the heart's capacity, and at the center of them all is love.
The Be Attitudes
In the summer of 2015 The Rev. Joseph Sebastian, S.J. Rector of Vidyajyoti College of Theology in Delhi, India visited the small neighborhood parish near our home. In one of his homilies, he spoke of the Beatitudes as the Be Attitudes. "How beautiful!" I thought, "How perfect!" Reminding us that "blessed" means "happy", he spoke of the Beatitudes as the dream and vision of Jesus: namely as the blossoming of humanity, the unfolding of the human person according to the Mind of God. He explained that the "Be Attitudes" of forgiveness, generosity, gratitude ~ all those Sacred Heart attitudes embedded in the Gospels, and embodied in the life of Jesus ~ are pure grace, pure gift, flowing into the world through the Spirit-filled lives of those who live by faith, who live by the first of the Be Attitudes: Blessed are the poor in spirit ~ blessed are those who, in all circumstances, depend on the goodness of God.
This work-in-progress, first published on the internet June 2, 2013, is being gathered into a small ebook, so please respect copyright. As soon as the booklet is published I will post the link. Thank you :-)
