I don't know about you, but I am seeing a shift in the meaning of the phrase "The Pursuit of Happiness." I think our government is forgetting the first part of the phrase--the PURSUIT.
According to the Declaration of Independence, all of us have unalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It seems that the pursuit of happiness is being shrunk down mean the guarantee of happiness. The key to that phrase is the word pursuit, which has been left by the wayside in the quest to make all lives equal.
So what is the pursuit of happiness, and does this country still abide by this principle? The pursuit of happiness doesn't necessarily mean happiness will be the end result, but that all have the right to work toward it. Each of us has the freedom to make decisions which will affect our own happiness--how you apply yourself will determine your own happiness in the end.
As a country, we need to focus more on the opportunities to achieve happiness, and less on making sure that everyone is equally happy, for we all know that will never happen.
For three years, I had the opportunity to work for Habitat for Humanity, an ecumenical low income housing non profit organization. On the surface, Habitat for Humanity built homes in communities and sold them to low income families at no profit and with a no interest mortgage. It was an amazing to stand in the doorway of a newly built or refurbished house and hand a key to a mother and father who never thought they would be a homeowner. That key meant to much to them, but beyond the house and the ceremonies and work was the most important key to that family's future--opportunity.
Habitat didn't give anything away, but hope. For over a year, volunteers and I would walk alongside a family as they learned what it meant to be a homeowner, from financial training to home maintenance and cleaning, yard work and helping others. Those tools were far more important than the hammers and drills and wrenches that constructed the house. The home was built with determination of the family to lift THEMSELVES up, and the community supported them as they learned how to do that on their own.
I wish every American could use Habitat for Humanity as a blue print to change lives. Not the building of the house, but the building of the home--the family, the future and the determination to rise above the challenges of life. This blueprint can be adapted for almost any situation if you are creative enough.
Unfortunately, we have become a nation of give aways and hand outs, and we are not solving the problems that keep people from happiness. Instead of giving out temporary happiness to everyone, we should invest in the pursuit of that happiness, the opportunities for people to help themselves, to find the determination within themselves to change their lives for the better and for forever. Until we as a nation focus on that, we will never begin to solve the problems that keep us separated by levels of happiness.
The song for this post, "Make Someone Happy," has been sung by just about everyone, from Frank Sinatra to Seal. Making people happy is a gift we all have, and it is our decision to use it--it should never be forced upon us.
