“‘During my whole life I have not had twenty-four hours of happiness.’ So said Prince Bismarck, one of the greatest statesmen of the nineteenth century. Eighty-three years of wealth, fame, honors, power, influence, prosperity and triumph, – years when he held an empire in his fingers, – but not one day of happiness!” ~ William George Jordan
What is the source of happiness? Is something external to you or a less definable quality that comes from within? Ask anyone who has tried to create happiness from the outside in – fame, the ideal family, the perfect home, the trophy wife, the accumulation of wealth – and you’ll often find not happiness but emptiness and longing at the end of the day. Wealth and acclaim might pad the cell, but ultimately he who has not yet found the secret to happiness will continue to live in a prison of his own making until the day he does.
William George Jordan offered valuable insight on the experience of happiness in his remarkable book, “The Majesty of Calmness”:
“Happiness is the greatest paradox in Nature. It can grow in any soil, live under any conditions. It defies environment. It comes from within; it is the revelation of the depths of the inner life as light and heat proclaim the sun from which they radiate. Happiness consists not of having, but of being; not of possessing, but of enjoying. It is the warm glow of a heart at peace with itself. A martyr at the stake may have happiness that a king on his throne might envy. Man is the creator of his own happiness; it is the aroma of a life lived in harmony with high ideals. For what a man has, he may be dependent on others; what he is, rests with him alone. What he obtains in life is but acquisition; what he attains, is growth. Happiness is the soul’s joy in the possession of the intangible. Absolute, perfect, continuous happiness in life, is impossible for the human. It would mean the consummation of attainments, the individual consciousness of a perfectly fulfilled destiny. Happiness is paradoxic because it may coexist with trial, sorrow and poverty. It is the gladness of the heart, – rising superior to all conditions.”
I imagine that I could write for months expanding the implications of this single paragraph, but I have more to say on so many topics so I promise not to dwell here too long. That said, what are we doing if we are not working to create the conditions – inner and outer – whereby happiness, joy and fulfillment can be known in greater abundance on earth?
There was a reason why the Founding Fathers of the United States of America not only included happiness in the framework of our Great Nation, but featured it prominently. The experience of happiness is not an airy-fairy concept; it is the very essence of true living.
Never forget that you are the creator of your own happiness. No other person, place or thing is responsible for your happiness, ever. Believe it or not, you have the opportunity to live a perfectly fulfilled life, if you so choose.
Gregory Hake 
Wow, that was the most amazingly beautiful description of happiness – thanks so much for sharing that!
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I don’t think he could have described it so well without having experienced it personally in some way. He does have a flair for memorable descriptions!
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Happiness is the unconscious satisfaction that you are living life for the right reasons. Those reasons might differ for each one of us, but we all have an innate knowledge of what that means for us individually.
I have to disagree with Jordan that it is impossible for a human to attain constant happiness. Just because one is unable to achieve perfection in a certain way at the moment does not mean that the circumstances cannot exist for it to be attained. However the rest of this excerpt is spot on (like the rest of Jordan’s writing I have seen).
I think, and he mentions, that you can still keep your happiness through trials and tribulations, through pain, sorrow, and suffering. Isn’t that perfection of happiness?
It seems to me that to be able to maintain happiness appropriately regardless of circumstance is exactly what perfection means. It does not mean the end of “perfect happiness” if the intensity of it waxes and wanes. In fact, if you were too happy at an inappropriate moment, that would be imperfection.
Anyway, I think it is clear that a life without happiness is just a series of motions that people go through; why would anyone want to do that?
Find your happiness. Align yourself with your reason for living. You know what it is.
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“Happiness is the unconscious satisfaction that you are living life for the right reasons.” My sentiments exactly. Inner peace can fill the void created by the absence of internal conflict.
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Thank you Gregg for the constant reminder that we are the authors of our own life and of”who” we choose to be in the world around us, in times of chaos or in times of great joy. I have experienced in my life obstacles that I would wish upon no other, moments in time where the world turns upside down and priorities shift dramatically. Even in this time of great difficulty, I found appreciation, joy, humility and even laughter. The sensing of peace was not due to the circumstances I was in but it was held deep in my heart and in my ability to be present, appreciating what was right. Just take the time to look at children, even ones experiencing great tribulation and you will see proof to back up these words of wisdom.Happiness is our royal inheritance, we can choose to sqandor it or to express it with passion into the world we center, and like the sun, warm the world around us.
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Thank you for sharing, TW and I am happy to see you putting this knowledge to the test!
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I wonder, if pressed to answer honestly, many might not echo Bismark’s lament! Most would recall at least flashes of what was assumed to be happiness, but perhaps those were just moments where everything appeared to line up with one’s peculiar world view – a victory by ‘my team,’ a situation where ‘I finally got what I wanted.’ In such case, of course, the flash fades as suddenly as it appeared, because it is just that.
Genuine happiness has deep roots, many textures, and is a growing, evolving quality that can only be known where one has been true to oneself, where violations of integrity have not been covered over and allowed to become part of an unworthy foundation.
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It’s funny but I heard the song “Don’t go chasing waterfalls” in my head while reading your comment. The shallow “wants” that fill the dead space created by a lack of kindled passion for true purpose can be so convincing yet in the end they are always revealed for what they are…mirages of happiness.
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Happiness, that inner peace and gladness of the heart, sets the stage for true enjoyment. In this state of mind and heart, those things which might otherwise escape notice are savoured with delight – the fresh smell of a quiet morning, the beauty of language in a well expressed thought, the way the light shines through a window on a winter afternoon …… There is so much to be enjoyed when one knows happiness!
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The inner life and its development – this is where true appreciation for the arts comes from, for it resonates with those ‘intangibles’ Mr. Jordan speaks of. It seems to tie back to a time where the virtues were emphasized in one’s education, the study of the classics as you have pointed out earlier – where we knew the inner life reigned supreme in the growth of the individual and thus was given great prominence towards it’s development. Today, in movies we have the hero genre where great limitations are overcome and I’ve often wondered if the reason we enjoy them so much is because it speaks to a virtually untapped reservoir of power inside all of us that rarely gets used….. the hero’s story typically begins with a sudden tragic change in their life and is put in a very constrictive situation – a jail or prison of sorts – and then has to find a way to overcome all that, typically through some inner revelation and great exercise of inner strength. And in the end, he or she happy, either happy for the first time or simply a greater person in some way than ever before all this started. I think these stories aren’t too far from the truth for all of us – some way, somehow, we have to find a way to overcome whatever surrounds us and let our spirit triumph over obstacles. This sense of true accomplishment is heroic in my mind and I know the thrill it gives when it happens!
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Overcoming triumphantly is true living, Ricardo. Thanks for sharing!
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I do agree, happiness is a result of feeling we are serving our higher purpose. Since that is not dependent on circumstances lining up just right, as any one over the age of 4 or 5 usually starts to deduce for themselves; we begin to see it has everything to do with what we give. The child that begins to experience the joy of sharing, the satisfaction of a job well done or the delight in helping is starting to realize we author our own lives. I’m certainly not suggesting all the circumstances are under our control but the inclination toward love or malevolence is our choice.
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Great post. Appreciate your ending comments.
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Great post!! Here is to gladness of heart!
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WGJ brings attention to the difference between “obtain” and “attain” – that really caught my eye. It inspired me to reflect on the source of my goals and where I may have been/may be totally off path, or even just making a subtile shift at some point to change the first two letters of the action. More often than not the path to attainment gets derailed for the path of obtainment, but it’s just two little letters that make the difference so it can just as easily be a shift the other way. Awesome posts to help that be the case!
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That is a wonderful description, that happiness can live in any soil, under any conditions, and that it defies its environment. It is so true. I find myself saying “Never again!” to thoughts of “If only…” or “If that hadn’t happened…” It is what it is and like an artist at a potter’s wheel I can make the most of the lump of clay in front of me, and enjoy the process thoroughly.
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