INTEGRITY MONTH: DAY 20: “Happiness comes from making good choices. Integrity, energy, perseverance, and courage all contribute. In short, happiness is related to character structure, work, health and relationships.”― Mary Pipher
In a world where every person states that their goal is to be happy, seldom will we work on these ingredients and believe it is the path to said happiness.
Instead, we chase things of Ego…money, fame, looks, pretty people surrounding us, the right cars and clothes and homes, travel…ad infinitum.
None of this is happiness. It is acquisition, gratification of Ego, and truly feeds only our character defects, not our character.
In building a character there is no Ego that can attain that goal. In achieving integrity, Ego must be smashed. The work of creating happiness cannot be bought, bartered, paid for in any way, or created in quick measure. It certainly takes perseverance and dedication to create a life of happiness.
There is no shortcut or quick route or steps that can be bypassed. There is no magic fix or pill or outfit that can make it happen.
It is a soul that has come to a peaceful existence with itself. That is not in the marketplace or in a career or in the right bank balance. It comes from peaceful acceptance and contentment with a life that is well-lived and satisfying for no reason. A sense of wellbeing and fulfillment with having been a good person who has done the right things in response to a puzzling and sometimes oppositional life.
Without the long term effects of a spiritual path, it is not happiness that we receive. We get a momentary sense of relief or satisfaction, but it does not go deeply into the soul and allow us to sleep at night with peace. It is something that has to be acquired every day, and is only the product of want.
Step 5 can bring to us a sense of completion and peace when we are ready to do it well.
Dolphin Hug 