Lucky to be Happy?
We all know what it feels like to be happy, but the actual source of our
happiness has always been hard to pinpoint.
Ever wondered what the etymology of the word “Happiness” is?
- Haphazard (randomness)
- Hapless (unlucky)
- Hap (Lucky)
There seems to be a connection between happiness and random luck.
(Similarly in Yiddish and German “Glucklich” means both happy and lucky.)
Ancient people viewed happiness more as a sign of luck, and this kind of thinking is still pretty common today. A lot of people assume that being happy means that you’re fortunate, your life was blessed, or that you’re just one lucky son of a gun.
Judaism disagrees with this notion. Yes, there is no doubt, certain lucky things add a degree of happiness. But it is in no way the defining factor to happiness.
We see so many examples of people blessed with dream like circumstances and still cannot find an enduring state of happiness.
Happiness is an Attitude
The Zohar points out that the letters forming the Hebrew word B’simcha-בשמחה (with joy) are the same letters that spell Machshavah-מחשבה (thought)
Happiness is mostly determined by thought processes and attitudes.
Our circumstances are often not in our control, but our mind is under our control. Our mind is the most crucial key to our happiness. A Healthy self-concept or self-esteem is vital to happiness.
Be sure to catch me next week as we discuss the unique Jewish approach to self-esteem.