“If in the desert, a lone traveler, in angry protest against the hardships of his journey, were to slash with his knife his goatskin water-bag, letting the hot sand drink up the water that means health, strength, life itself, it would seem—supreme folly.
If a shipwrecked sailor were to slip voluntarily from his rude raft of spars in mid-ocean, thrust it far from him in disgust that it were not a finely upholstered boat, and, forsaking it, trust himself alone to the powers of winds and waves and darkness, it would seem— contempt for the mercies left him.
If we were to see a man idly roll a hundred-dollar bill into a splint, hold a lighted match to it and watch the charred fragments fall to the floor as a dead memorial of uselessness,—we would remember it for a lifetime. We would tell the story many times in the years to come. We would dilate on the waste, the folly, the great possibilities for good and helpfulness wantonly sacrificed to vanity and vandalism.
In our every-day life there are countless instances of happiness thrown away just as foolishly for a trifle,—perhaps but the puny gratification of a moment. It seems more hopelessly inexcusable than to cast aside a pearl and save the empty useless oyster shell that enclosed the treasure.
Our happiness rarely dies a natural death. We slay it with our own hand or others kill it for us. The veriest trifle may keep it alive, the veriest trifle may kill it, and yet selfishly, blindly, we still the heart of our own happiness or that of others. We may even irreverently throw the blame on the scheme of the universe—when we alone are at fault.” ~ William George Jordan
Of all of the difficult things to swallow in the world today, one of the most saddening to me is the fact that so few on earth discover the secret to happiness. To call it a secret actually does not do it justice, for it is hidden in plain sight.
Each one carries the seeds of happiness in his bosom. They are present at birth, throughout our youth and remain available for expression up until we draw our last breath. These seeds grow in the soil of love, yet they also require the waters of truth to germinate in the individual experience.
Happiness is, as we have considered on numerous previous occasions, a radiant quality. It is known whenever your body, mind and heart are aligned, for in this state the core of you is allowed undistorted expression from the inside out. Anything that moves these three parts of you out of alignment will dissipate the sense of well-being that comes with happiness. A cross word, a mean spirit given form through your expression or the refusal to forgive pull you out of this all-important alignment.
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly people will sacrifice their own happiness to the gods of self-centeredness, self-pity and self-righteousness. In the first case the individual sees himself at the center of the universe. His life depends on his ability to suck the lifeblood of others and his parasitic approach to living precludes his radiance, leaving him hungry as soon as the blood of his victims is digested. In the second, the individual is so focused on loss, pain and suffering that he too creates a vacuum that smothers the fire of his passion to live joyously and vibrantly. In the final case, the individual is so convinced of the wisdom of his approach (after having gorged on the fruit of judgment) that he can no longer discern between true happiness and the fool’s gold known as “goodness.”
It is entirely possible to be an absolutely miserable “good” person. Oddly enough, trying to be good is one of the primary causes of unhappiness in the world, but not for the obvious reasons. I’ve observed over time that the attempt to be good is typically preceded by judgment and predicated on the assumption that love requires sacrifice. Judgment produces subluxation in the body-mind-heart axis, while sacrifice – the idea that you must give up the enjoyable things in life to be good – creates an unrelieved tension that restricts the outward flow of happiness.
It is also true that any attitude or spirit in expression that is not consistent with love, blessing and encouragement restricts the flow of happiness from the core of you outward. Harboring or giving voice to ill spirits of any kind creates a plaque in the arteries of your self-expression that cause a sort of spiritual, emotional and mental hypertension, which ultimately imprint upon the physical body. You needn’t look far in the medical journals to see the relationship between chronic worry and digestive disorders, for instance.
As Mr. Jordan so astutely pointed out, “happiness rarely dies a natural death.” Its demise comes not at the hand of external forces, but instead from inner weakness.
We’ll consider this matter further in the days to come. In the meantime, look to emphasize the spirit of appreciation in your world. It will illuminate the starting points through which the seeds of happiness always present in you can blossom and flourish.
Gregory Hake 
The power of Appreciation cannot be overlooked or ignored. When one is genuinely appreciative it is amazing what can be accomplished. It seems to me however, that there is often false appreciation when one looks only at the end result or so called bottom line. Instead perhaps we could be better served by being genuinely appreciative of the little things such as individual effort regardless of outcome.
An example of that might be the efforts that those behind the scenes make to support the efforts of those who are visible in any company or corporation. It is easy to overlook, i suppose, but the work of those behind the scenes is crucial to allow those who might be more visible to do their work – without it collapse and failure are assured.
It saddens me when I see lack of appreciation for those people, and seems to block what those who they are doing it for from becoming a successful as they otherwise could. What I constantly remind myself of is to start with what is right in all circumstances, not what is wrong. In other words, start with appreciation.
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Appreciation, when not self-serving, blesses all within earshot!
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It is funny, because you see that people who are trying to be “good” are usually unhappy, but so are those that do not care what their actions are. The truly happy people are those people who do what they know is right for themselves, and do not worry about whether other people are being right according to what is right for them. Each person is different, and the path of life is different for each person as well.
Everyone has to live with the results of their daily actions, and that is judgement enough.
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Goodness is the perfect expression of the right thing at the right time, nothing more, nothing less. It is always fired by love and tempered by truth. Comparison is, as you say, beside the point.
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“…trying to be good is one of the primary causes of unhappiness in the world…” “trying” deserves to be italicized – a point not to be missed! Of your almost 550 posts, this is my new favorite. Awesome!!
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Funny. Thanks. Trying to be good is what most do because they are afraid to let goodness radiate from the inside out in relation to life’s challenges both big and small.
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So true, so true!
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It is amazing how we are given so many signs of our misalignment through the state of our physical bodies. I always tell clients in the world of fitness, your body never lies. It would be so wonderful if we could make adjustments in our spiritual and mental bodies before it arrived at physical disfunction, what a healthier world we would have on all levels. I know when a heart is filled with appreciation, there is then no room for ill spirits. It is an exercise that I use with my children when they are feeling angry or badly done by. I have given each one a gratitude journal in hopes that they make a habit of appreciation. The climate today relative to politics, religion and business is filled with judgment, self- righteousness and self pity, let all of us who read your words Gregg put each principle into active daily use in order to radiate something different into the world to make an adjustment in the sublaxation of human consciousness. This in turn may give our children a stable platform to go forth in the world to live lives empowered by truth and love, giving our world a shot at flowing suit. I plan on taking the action steps to do so and hope others will as well.
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I once heard the sequence of expression described as being the flow from spirit to feeling to thought to word to action. The earlier you make the correction the less painful and visible the redirection. If you wait until the last minute, when the corruption is “in the flesh” it can be quite a chore to clean house!
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Appreciation has been my “go to” salve. No matter how deep the emotional trough I’ve gotten myself in, appreciation has always helped me find the way back to the light. I have a great esteem for it’s powerful capability; when it’s present and the decay caused by the lack of it. Rather than think of it as a healing spirit, I’m seeing it now as a nourishing one. There most likely will be times of healing needed in each life but preventative measures, like being a consistently appreciative person could build the strength to fortify our radiant ability, making us less susceptible to “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”.
I love this subject because it can make such a profound difference in a moments time. Thank you and George Jordan for your continued analysis.
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This is wonderfully described. Your words expose the harsh landscape of the human heart as it has become, but also point the way to a radically different experience should there be the courage and honesty to look, assess and allow the primary changes to occur.
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Greatly appreciate the starting point this morning.
Centered where I should be, as a result, and ready to share this with the world!
Thanks Gregg, you rock!!!
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How things would be if happiness were to be allowed to die a natural death….the snares you mention of the human ego are tricky indeed. In losing contact with the inner reality of our lives, I guess the mind struggles for a way to maintain some sort of identity just to survive and those 3 artificial states in some combination are assumed which then further solidify the disconnection.
Glad though that there is a way out! Forgiveness and humility can be antidotes to believing you are always right, for there is so much we do not know. Love, blessing and encouragement gets your head out of your personal circumstances so that you aren’t trapped in an abyss of self-pity. To be a blessing, to help others in your world – you will know this clearly as the symptoms are unmistakeable. The tension you speak of will not be there. You will not be concerned to look good by reflection, for the good you seek will be an expression, a quality that emanates from you in your actions and words. You are free to live your life with happiness, naturally and selflessly appreciating the world around you and the time you have to live in it.
It’s good to think about of these things, every single day. Lots of pressures encroach upon our sanity these days, and it’s our duty and necessity to keep our lovely ship afloat in the sea of calm. Buen dia!
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What a clear, concise description of how the process of happiness works through the heart, mind and body. The idea of subluxating the flow paints a vivid picture. Judgement has been called “the forbidden fruit” perhaps if we just called it ” the poison fruit” it would more accurately warn the consumer.
Great post thank you.
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Thank you for this Saturday morning gem! This is such simple advice that can easily be followed no matter who we are or what our circumstances are. Appreciation is the water for the seeds of happiness. It also makes moot the desire to squash your own happiness or that of others as the elements of hate and the radiance of appreciation cannot live together.
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