IF we strive to be HAPPY
by filling the silence of life with
SOUND,
[IF we strive to be] PRODUCTIVE
by turning all life’s leisure into
WORK,
and [IF we strive to be] REAL
by turning all our being into
DOING,
we will only succeed in producing a hell on earth.
If we have no SILENCE, God is not heard in our music.
If we have no REST, God does not bless our work.
If we twist our lives out of shape in order to fill every corner
of them with action and experience,
GOD will seem silently to
withdraw from our hearts
and leave us empty.
—Thomas Merton

HAPPY . . . so much of today’s marketing seems to be
based on selling me something to make me happy, BUT
what does it take to make me “happy”? What does “happy” mean?

some synonyms listed for “happy”: joyous, joyful, blithe, cheerful, merry, contented, blissful, satisfied – favorable, propitious; successful, prosperous – appropriate, fitting, opportune, pertinent

SO . . . what does “happy” mean to me? I guess that really changes
based on what is going on at any particular time:
–if I am hungry, food can make me happy
–if I am cold, clothing can make me happy
–if I am lonely, people can make me happy
–if I am threatened, safety can make me happy
and on it goes . . .

SO . . . what does “happy” mean to me?
cheerful? successful? prosperous?

Right now, in this time of my life, I am more inclined to desire strongly
“integrity” . . . the lining up of my inner self with my outer self,
more of the peace in accepting that my perceived imperfections
are a part of my journey to “integrity,” wholeness being a process
with life as a classroom drawing to “integrity” with a definition that
changes as I am open to deeper exploration of an ever-expanding
vision . . . beyond me, yet in me . . . Integrity, Wholeness, ONE . . .