The Pursuit of Happiness: What are you seeking?

We all seek for many things. Some of us seek for money. Some of us seek for fame. Some of us seek for love. Some of us seek for health. But I believe, at its core, what we are ultimately seeking for is happiness. “I’ll be happy if I find the love of my life… if I have enough money, I’ll be happy… if I get that promotion… if I purchase that home… if I get that car…” The list goes on and on but we all know people who have money, who have fame, who even have the love of their life but still are not happy.

Instead of that which may lead to happiness, we are going to look directly at what does cause us to be happy. Together, with this book, we can ultimately have a happy life. You may be asking, “Why do I want to listen to you Dr. Puff?” and that’s a very good question. I will give you my answer; however, the ultimate proof is going to be that as we move on together are we improving our lives? That’s always the key of anything, does it work? If this isn’t working for you then stop reading, put this book down and move one; but let’s give it a try and see if perhaps our lives don’t improve as we move along together.

I’d like to give you a brief introduction about me first. You will learn a lot more about me as I go along. I am a big story-teller and love to share my stories. Perhaps why I feel I have something to say about happiness is that God created me in such a way that this has been my passion of life. For example, have you ever met someone who loves music and they eat, sleep, and drink music; that’s all they do? Or perhaps you’ve known someone who loves mathematics and they eat, sleep, and drink mathematics. I have, from a very young age, pursued happiness; asking what makes us happy, how can we be happy, and it’s been a long arduous journey. Along the way I have learned some things, some things that really work well for being happy, staying happy, and maintaining happiness throughout your day, week, year, and life. Again, the proof will be in the pudding, but let’s explore the world of happiness and see if we too can’t be happy. I guarantee you that anyone, absolutely anyone, can be happy if they just work at it. It is work, but at our core this is what we are all pursuing. We may be pursuing it by diving into our favorite sports team and watching them every weekend, by going to the local clubs and searching for the love of our life, by going to our work day after day and hoping that we make enough money and all will be well. We will explore these things and find what truly helps us to be happy, to stay happy and to live a happy life.

I’d like to share a story that I heard once that I believe really explains what happiness, at its core, is all about. There once was a man named Jim who was regularly praying to God for this and that, always wanting something. He prayed for more money, he prayed for the love of his life, he wanted this illness to go away, and this pain to be gone, and on and on. He constantly kept praying to God regularly for this and that and that and this. Perhaps we can all relate to this in some way? Then one day, late at night while he was saying his prayers a voice started speaking to him out of nowhere. He was very frightened and said “Who is it?” The voice answered, “I am God.” You can imagine he was both very frightened and very excited. Jim asked him, “Why are you here God? What do you want?” God replied to him, “Jim, you have been praying to me for many, many years and constantly asking me for things. What I am going to do is I am going to give you one last thing. Only one thing, but it can be anything you want; however, it will be the last thing that I ever give you in your life so make it a good one.” Jim was very excited and nervous. He really didn’t’ know what to ask for and didn’t want to ask for the wrong thing so he began to talk to his friends and ask them for help in making his decision. One friend said, “Ask for money!” but another friend said, “No, we all know people who have lots of money but they still have lots of problems.” Another friend said, “Ask for a long life!” but another friend said, “No, if you do that you will outlive all of your friends and loved ones and you will be sad and lonely in life.” He continued to question people what he should ask for but nothing seemed right; everything people would come up with had some type of hole in it that made it a bad choice. So six months later God came to him again. God said, “Jim, it’s been six months and I need your request. What is it you want from me?” Jim said, “God, can I ask you a question first?” and God said, “Yes Jim, of course you can ask me a question. What is it?” So Jim asked, “God, can you tell me what to wish for because I don’t know what to ask for?” God said, “Yes Jim, I will tell you what to ask for. Jim what you ask for is that whatever happens in your life that you be content with it.”

Now think about those words… “That whatever happens in your life, you be content with it.” What does this mean for us? You say, “I’m in a job I don’t like… can I be happy?” Of course, make the changes as best you can; but if it doesn’t change be content with what you have. If you don’t have enough money and you wish you had more and the bills are constantly there, again be happy with what you do have.

There is a science rule that I will speak of many times in the future that says “If any person in the universe can be happy with ‘this thing’ then that means it is a possibility for anyone.” This means if someone has cancer, but they’re happy, that means any of us can be happy. If someone has lost the love of their life but they can still find happiness, then that means anyone can find happiness. We will elaborate on this in much more detail and if you have any questions or comments regarding this I welcome your thoughts.

Basically, at its core, what this story tells us is that if we learn to be happy with what we have, then we are happy. If we learn to love what life has given us, then we are happy. Yes we may want changes, yes everything may not be going the way we want, but if we celebrate and love what we have while working towards making changes at the same time we have a happy life.