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Dear Parish Faithful,
“A person who could not swim was floundering in water. He caused waves, which he mistook for a dangerous stream. He began to fight with the waves. Finally, he understood that he can float on the water and then managed to reach the riverbank. When he came out of water, he saw that the river was calm and understood that the waves he was fighting with were caused by him. Any misfortune begins within us. If you get your head straight, it will end within us.”
- Monk Symeon the Athonite
The "pursuit of happiness" remains very high on the life-long agenda of countless people. To be "unhappy" is to be something that only invites some form of misery or other, and which we seek to avoid as much as possible. For Americans, happiness is embedded in the second paragraph of our founding document, The Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Yet, the final goal can prove to be quite elusive, outside of very temporary moments of happiness - however defined or experienced - that may keep us longing for more.
With this background in mind, I wanted to share the insights from an article that I recently discovered, entitled: "Seven Secrets of Happiness According to the Athonite Elders." I believe this list was formulated by the author more-or-less summarizing or synthesizing the perennial insights gathered over the years from these elders. That may, in turn, offer a time-tested and life-tested authenticity to the list. I am not offering any of my own commentary to this list of "seven secrets," but I invite everyone to think over - or perhaps to meditate on - this list as to their meaning and effectiveness. We may perhaps ask ourselves the question: If I were to devise my own personal list of the "seven secrets" of happiness, would there be any overlap with that of these Athonite elders?
Of course, we lead a life so markedly different than these celibate monastics who live in isolation on "the holy mountain." But, when it comes to the interior life and our common human nature (and our shared Orthodox Christian Faith), perhaps we are closer to them than we may think. Actually, my only comment would be that I do not find anything "spectacular" or unrealistic in their list.
Be that as it may, here is what the Athonite elders suggest as the "seven secrets of happiness:"
1. Faith in God
2. Becoming free from worries and vanity
3. A sober mind
4. A pure heart
5. Ability to forgive
6. Give more, take less
7. Being grateful for small favors
I am hoping that there "plenty" here to think about!
