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Happiness
Friday 21 November 2008
I have just read with much interest Christopher Jamison´s book ´Finding Happiness: Monastic Steps to a Fulfilling Life´. Father Christopher is the Abbot of Worth, a Benedictine monastery in Sussex, England, which featured in the BBC2 series ´The Monastery´. He says that there are eight thoughts, or ´demons´, which divert us from that self-awareness which is essential if we are to achieve happiness. There are ´acedia´ (spiritual carelessness), gluttony, lust, greed, anger, sadness, vanity and pride. The monastic tradition both in Christianity and in other religions maintains that there is a strong link between purity and happiness. What we should do if we are to find happiness is to take delight in the opposite of the eight demons: the virtues. There are three virtues in the body: moderation, chaste love (chaste love is not the same as celibacy and can include sexual love expressed in faithfulness to one partner) and generosity. There are three virtues in the heart and mind: gentleness, gladness and spiritual awareness. Two virtues of the soul: magnanimity and humility. To make a sincere choice to stand by these is purity of heart and to follow them as our path is sheer delight. To be a person filled with these virtues is to be a delightful person. But living the eight virtues is so much harder than embracing the eight thoughts (demons) and we know that our feet will often step off these stepping stones. With God´s grace, however, we can persevere, be forgiven and we can start again each day.
All too often, he says, happiness is narrowed down to mean feeling good. There´s nothing wrong with feeling good, but such a narrow definition leaves little room for the delight of virtue and the joy of grace. Finding happiness is a lifelong process that culminates in a happy death.
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