A Guaranteed Formula For Happiness
A proven path to a state of grace - ongoing happiness
by
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I must have you bear with me and revisit with me two
of the recent, most distressing incidents of contemporary unhappiness. The
first is the O.J. Simpson tragedy and the second, on a different level, the
President Clinton affair.
I refer to the O.J. case as a tragedy because it was
not only a horrific experience affecting the O.J. Simpson family, not only the
tragedy of the victims’ families, it was potentially a deplorable American
‘socioeconomic’ disaster because it severely undermined the intrinsic value of
the American Dream.
A young black man, emerging from the blight of the
American City unto unparalleled success in sports, movies and social spheres,
is an instance of an American dream successfully attained.
A publicly adored and envied star of stage and
sports, socially prominent, married to a great beauty and the father of two
adorable children, who was alleged to have murdered the mother of his children
and her young admirer, would have had to harbor an enormous amount of self-hate
and unhappiness.
The President’s affair with a young lady, in the
White House, under the possible scrutiny of his wife and the American people,
was an instance of self-hatred that expressed itself, unwittingly, by
displaying a need for self-castigation for being, apparently, unworthy of the
honors bestowed.
These two lamentable spectacles are evidence of
dysfunction begetting dysfunction. Regrettably, these examples are proof of an
almost unavoidable genetic stamping that bodes eventual self-destruction.
As an aside, it is apparent that neither of the
women involved bears any blame for the actions of these truly tragic figures.
And so you may well ask, along with so many others,
observing these ongoing modern tragedies, if the achievement of the American
Dream, so beautifully exemplified by O.J. Simpson and the President of the USA,
does not provide happiness, what does.
The answer, my friends, is not blowing in the wind.
The answer is truly within your power to comprehend. Not only is happiness
attainable; ongoing happiness is achievable. When attained, it is the basis for
a truly gratifying existence.
When we are ‘spiritually inspired’ we accept
ourselves as beautiful, loving and lovable creatures. We then, look out unto
the world with loving eyes and revel in the grandeur of nature, the
magnificence of the animal kingdom and the marvel of mankind.
It was the previous presentation that prompted my
Cousin Josh to challenge Uncle Milt on matters that, apparently, preoccupied
his thoughts. Uncle Milton, he queried: “Do you believe in God? Is Happiness
attainable?”
Uncle Milton gave a moment’s reflection to the
questions before he responded, to the first, with a smile and an assertive:
"Sure, who else, other than God, could have
known to choose the one planet that could sustain life from amongst the
apparent multitude of inhospitable planets in the Universe?”
Please understand! My concern is not for those who
are at peace with themselves and the world. My attention is directed to the
unhappy and the discontented amongst those who embrace a religious fate and to
those apostates, agnostics and atheists who are seeking something of value to
substitute for their dispensation with a faith in God or a Supreme Spirit.
In the beginning the earth was unformed and darkness
was on the face of the deep - chaos!
‘God’, as recognized by the Western Religions or as
the ‘Supreme Self’ in the Oriental cultures, even in this chaotic state, was
omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. Yet, God knew that something was
lacking.
Milton
stopped and smiled: “God Knows”, we say it all the time. Don’t we?
Well, as I was saying, God knew that he was unhappy!
He, undoubtedly, felt unfulfilled. He, the omniscient, realized that true
omnipotence could be realized only through actual demonstration of His omnipresence,
through utilization of his most prized attribute, his creative ability. He
proceeded to create the grandeur of heaven and earth, the magnificence of
nature, the splendor of the animal kingdom and the marvel of humankind. He did
it all, looked around, and was very pleased with his creativity!
Uncle Milt wagged his finger at us and continued:
It behooves us all, to emulate the Creator and
thereby enjoy personal fulfillment through cultivation of our most precious
attribute, our creative talent. Only then will we be assured of achieving
maximum potential and that measure of contentment required for a happy
existence.
Wise men, through the millennium, have sought to
understand the meaning of life. This, undoubtedly, has been a worthy and
gratifying quest. An equitable and acceptable answer to the meaning of life is
still in the making.
In the interim, of great interest to each of us as
individuals should be the answer to a simpler question: “What should be my
purpose in life?”
Those who are familiar with the Biblical story know that they ate from t
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Many of us peruse the vast literature that promises
personal growth and fulfillment. We contend that our on-going quest is for
equanimity and, hopefully, a measure of contentment.
If we’re really honest about it, we’ll admit that
our ultimate objective is to capture that tantalizing, evasive, dream we call
happiness.
As we traverse the highways in search of happiness,
many of us stumble and fall amidst the dashed hopes and crumbled dreams of
those who ventured before us.
Hopefully, some of us will manage to attain a
measure of happiness in our protracted trek through life.
The author takes you on an exciting journey of
discovery.
He has you observing the spiritual transformation of
two young American cousins, honed fine by their experiences during WWII and the
Israeli war of independence.
He has their Uncle, a retired District Attorney,
reveal in excruciating exciting detail his “proven path” to a true state of
grace – ongoing happiness.
About the Author
Melvin has traveled the world.
He has lived in 4 different countries and explored many fields of endeavor.
Mel’s objective was to add spice to life by facing manifold challenges and enjoying the interest resulting from diverse relationships and exceptional and varied experiences.
The road he followed prepared him well for the vagaries of life and rewarded him with innumerable joys and untold gratification.
He has been a porter, a construction worker, a retail salesman, a union organizer, a sailor, a diamond driller, a truck driver, a mounted policeman, an army officer, a secret-service agent, an insurance salesman, a manager of ocean-liner sales, a pyramid-concept salesman, an inventor, a real-property administrator.
Mel has published short stories and has written and lectured on “The Highway to Happiness”.