The Wisdom of a Small Child

The following is an excerpt from the book, "The Happiness Principle" by Randy and Elise Petersen:

It would be hard not to notice that I refer back to my childhood quite often when evaluating spiritual concepts.  While I'm not entirely sure why this is; I think it may be because it was one of the happiest times of my life and I believe that my perceptions were innocent and pure at the time. These were truly my first impressions. Our little angel Lilly Ann operates from this perspective and her perceptions concerning God and life are simple and truthful.

In the 13th chapter of the book of Mark, Jesus indicates that certain qualities of little children are the embodiment of those that work and dwell in God's kingdom when He said:

14 ...Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

Now if this is a core component of angelic figures and others that work and dwell with God, then striving to adopt such character traits might just be another way to strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father. So what are these heavenly, child-like characteristics? Well let's see… little children tend to be:

Trusting: Children have faith that their parents and teachers will take care of them and protect them. With the same childlike purity we must have faith that God is guiding us on our best life course. Even if things are still a little bumpy we must trust that He knows where we are headed and that there are smoother roads ahead.

Teachable: Children are open and receiving. Young children don't tend to be as rebellious and opinionated as adults so they by their very nature are teachable. If we will be open and receiving of God's guidance in a humble and pure child-like manner our personal growth and happiness will skyrocket.

Care-Free: Children don't have much use for yesterday or tomorrow because they pretty much live in the now. They don't excessively stress and they don't habitually worry but they are usually focused on the joy of the game or activity at hand.  If we follow their lead and resist care and worry, with the knowledge that Father will safely see us through difficulty, we will in time eliminate much of the stress and fear that encompasses many of our lives.

Innocent: Little children are pure and innocent. When we as adults lose all or part of our innocence we have lost a very valuable possession. Without innocence we can tend to become jaded, bitter and untrusting. Innocence is the pure spiritual energy of hope and forgiveness and unconditional love and limitless possibilities. We should strive to be wise through Father while preserving as much of our childhood innocence as possible.

Loving: The love of a little child is almost unmatched by any other type of love. Childlike love is sweet, devoted and unconditional. This is another pure form of love that we should all strive to cultivate.

Joyful: Little children are naturally happy and fun. This seems to be their calling and career, and most work very hard at it. It's a great priority to them and they won't let anything get in the way of it. We should follow their example and make joy a high priority. Even when we are having a bad day, we should strive to find happiness somewhere or in something just as a little child would. 

www.happinessprinciple.net

The Greatest Love of All

By Randy Petersen

 In the book The Happiness Principle we learn that the greatest love of all is the love that we have for God. It is the embodiment of the principle in that we must make God our highest priority if we wish to find true happiness and fulfillment, so loving God is a big part of this equation. In fact we are promised that if we will develop a close, loving relationship with Him, we will be blessed in great and unimaginable ways. In the second chapter of first Corinthians, the Apostle Paul makes an amazing promise:

⁹ But it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

So by truly loving God we are literally opening the door to great blessings, even blessings that have not been previously experienced, and to unlimited possibilities for peace and contentment. We can begin by always expressing our love for God in prayer, and by asking for divine help and a true desire in making this connection. Of course love is more than just words. It is our actions and attitudes that really demonstrate our love for God. In order to really love someone deeply and completely, we must be true to them. If they are worth loving then we should be consistently committed to them through the good times and the bad. 

So when times get tough do we blame God? When faced with great difficulty do we participate in behaviors that are rebellious and destructive in spite of Him? Do we lose faith in Him when things aren’t going our way? Conversely, do we ignore Him when things are going well and only talk to Him when we are in need? If we treated a spouse or a family member in this fashion, not only would they not feel loved, but our relationship with them would be on shaky ground. So don’t be a fair-weather friend when it comes to your relationship with God, but instead love Him consistently and completely through the good and the bad and you will be blessed with the greatest power for healing and happiness in the universe.

 Love of God is at the very center of what The Happiness Principle is all about. Check it out at the web address below:

www.happinessprinciple.net

Balance through Moderation

 by Randy Petersen

In the book The Happiness Principle, we learn that the path to a balanced life is through moderation. For instance, you can become very rich and successful by working at your career 60 or 70 hours a week. Unfortunately, by investing so much time in just one area, other facets of your life must suffer. If you have a family, they will surely feel the results of your absence and this imbalance can cause long term problems for everyone involved. Another example might be if you played video games all night, almost every night of the week. While subsisting off of fast food and soda pop, you experience little physical activity other than the exercising of your trigger finger. Again we see obvious imbalance here as such an obsessively excessive behavior would lead to imbalance in the areas of  poor physical and social health, just to name a few. Of course, the best way to bring greater equilibrium to both examples is through the power of moderation. While the above examples are extreme, we all have areas in our life that could use the blessing of balance that moderation can deliver. 

Perhaps you're a parent that has their children on the run constantly from school to dance to music lessons to soccer practice to a pile of homework to bed to the next day, on and on, over and over again. Perhaps your kids have begged for some of the pressure to be taken off of them, but you know that if they stay busy they will stay out of trouble and all of these activities will help them in their adult lives ahead. But what if you moderated their schedule a little and planned more family activities or just gave them more time to be kids. It’s possible that this added balance might benefit them more not only in the future but the present. 

So take a breath and take a look at your life. When you find areas of excess, moderate them. Too much work, add a little leisure. Too much leisure, get to work. Are you stuck in front of the TV most nights? Moderate it. Go visit a friend or family member and brighten their day. Go to the park and shoot some hoops or throw some horseshoes or just take a walk. Most importantly, if you have kids and you are not spending much quality time with them... get to it. In fact spending time with family is the one area of our lives that shouldn't be moderated; it should instead be our greatest earthly priority. This said, with most things, if you’ll mix it up and moderate it, you will find the balance in life that lends itself to real personal peace and of course, happiness.

www.happinessprinciple.net

Count Your Many Blessings

by Randy Petersen

Composer Johnson Oatman, Jr. lived between 1856 and 1922 and was famous for writing over 5000 gospel hymns, many of which are included in most church hymnals to this day. In one of his most famous songs entitled “When Upon Life’s Billows” he encourages us to count our many blessings.

“When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings name them one by one. Count your blessings see what God hath done. Count your blessings name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God hath done.”

In the book The Happiness Principle we learn that we can't be happy if we are unappreciative of our blessings, no matter how small. So how often do you consider, let alone count all of the wonderful blessings in your life? From the time you first open your eyes in the morning do you look around and notice that you have a home around you that has kept you safe, secure and comfortable throughout your night’s slumber. When you walk over to the light switch and flip it on, are you thankful for the instant illumination that you enjoy and the fact that you’re not having to fumble for matches and an oil lamp like those that lived just a few generations ago. Do you think about how your clothes and dishes are washed automatically, and no matter what model you own, you have a car that takes you just about anywhere with ease and in comfort.

Do you have a job? Well even if you're not happy with it; isn’t it great that you have income and a way to support your family? And what about the important people in your life; your family, friends and those who care about you? While you love them, do you think about how grateful you are to have them in your life? And are you exercising this level of gratitude each and every day? Now after reading this you might feel exhausted thinking that such a daily approach would be impossible to achieve, but with a little time and focus it is not just doable but very rewarding. From the choice parking space that greeted you at the grocery store to the beautiful sunny day that follows the storm to the wonderful evening you had last night just playing with and loving your kids, if you will learn to briefly ponder each of your many gifts when they occur and give thanks, something wonderful will begin to happen. 

In time as you become proficient in your daily appreciation it will become harder and harder to be discontent for any extended period of time. It will also help shift your wants and desires from the superficial and spending your hard earned money on things that you don’t need. Finally it will help you in identifying more of the true blessings with which God is currently trying to bless you. So let’s start counting our many blessing.