Editorial by Marianne Lincoln

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, isn’t that what ‘we the people’ want?

We often talk about having a happy life, doing what makes us happy. But I prefer to look at it differently. I actually do not believe there is a real thing called happiness. My life has not been easy; there have been many pitfalls. Starting by having a mother that called me an accident, to being the middle child and second daughter, so I was a spare. I have been fired, laid off, broke, homeless, divorced, and had my share of health issues from sciatica to cancer. This is not my focus.

Life has lots and lots of pitfalls. Things break, people die, accidents happen. The world is not kind, it is competitive, sometimes gruesomely. War, famine, pestilence and it goes on and on. These all make it difficult to be happy.

But every day, the sun rises. Sometimes it rains, but rainbows come out, reminding us at times the rain stops. Winter’s cold ends, and flowers bloom. Even in Winter, sometimes the snow shines like diamonds. The robin is happy to find a worm, but the worm is having a bad day. So there is another way to look at life and here is my key; It is not happiness, but joy.

Even in the middle of awful things, if you look carefully, joy sneaks in. Joy is full of surprises. Joy is beautiful, kind, luxurious, and sweet. Joy is also fleeting, but it pops up again when you aren’t expecting it. Joy can be a thing, a gesture, a flavor, or a memory.

You may need to change how you look at things to find it. It requires you to look a little deeper at what is around you. Take an inventory – ugly, mean, nasty, pretty. Oh, something pretty! Overlook the first three and you have succeeded in finding a bit of joy.

So stop to think, when you rub the lamp and ask your three wishes. Before you utter the words that you want to be happy, think about saying, I want a world filled with a million joys every day. Not only are you more likely to get it, you may actually find it much more satisfying.