The Pursuit of Happiness

A Sermon Delivered by

The Rev. Thomas Schmidt

November 18, 2007

at the 

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Lowcountry

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of property.”  That is how it was originally written in the Declaration of Independence, however later copies unfortunately changed the phrase to be the pursuit of happiness.  I say unfortunate because, though most people are unaware that such a change ever occurred, the idea that the pursuit of property and the pursuit of happiness have become so conflated that the vast majority of Americans seem unable to distinguish the difference.  Not just Americans of course, but Americans most especially.  

The pursuit of happiness is big business, and getting bigger.  It is never more obvious than now, the start of the holiday season.  The perception that happiness can be purchased, wrapped in pretty paper, and given one to another is as ubiquitous as tinsel and ten-foot-tall tin soldiers in those teeming temples of desolation  we call malls.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a giving and getting gifts as much as the next person.  But however jolly, merry, sunny, joyous, lighthearted, in good spirits, bubbly, exuberant, cheery, smiling, mirthful, radiant; jubilant, overjoyed, thrilled, ecstatic, euphoric, blissful, elated, delighted, gleeful; jovial, genial, good-humored; chipper, chirpy, peppy, over the moon, on top of the world, or upbeat a gift given or received makes me feel, it is, by nature, a temporary state.  Like all things, all manifestations, feelings are temporary, no-thing is permanent.    

Happiness, true, sustained happiness, on the other hand is a permanent state of being. Yes, a permanent state.  I know, I just said that no-thing is permanent.  So, if happiness is permanent, then it cannot be a thing, a manifestation.  Happiness, true and sustained happiness is not a thing, it is not something one can possess, pursue, or feel.  So, what is it?  What is happiness? Happiness is wholeness, unity, at-one-ment, with that which in us and around us yet do not see.  

It is the unity known around the globe as the Way of Taoism, the creative force of theism, the Om of Hinduism, the Buddha Nature, and the interdependent web of existence of our tradition. Happiness is living in full awareness of our true selves.  

And since happiness is not a thing and cannot be pursued as we might pursue an object, a thing, a feeling, the question must be asked, “How is happiness achieved?”  The first step to achieve, of course, is to stop pursuing it.  The realization that happiness cannot be achieved through the pursuit of things is the first step and perhaps the biggest step.  From that point of realization, then one follows the path of letting go, letting go of everything that is not you.  It is letting go of all the manifestations, feelings, habits, obsessions, tendencies, peculiarities, that have accumulated over the many years of living. This is no easy task, it can take many years and it is generally not easy.  This task requires a great deal of commitment, patience, and it can at times be painful, and it is a never ending journey.  What I am describing, of course, is the spiritual, the religious life.  It is why most of us are here and why we keep coming back.

Many years ago, long before I met my partner, long before I found Unitarian Universalism, long before I could consider myself even remotely happy, I did not much care for the holiday season.  For me it was a reminder of all the things I did not have.  I did not have a partner to share the holidays with. I generally did not have much money to buy gifts for family and friends.  I generally did not have a flood of joyous childhood memories associated with the holidays.  To say the least, the holidays were a stress-filled time for me.  I am not sure how the practice began, but it became a regular habit of mine to visit a mall during December and do nothing but sit and watch. I watched the people come and go, the vast majority in such a hurry, each in his and her own little world.  So much coming and going, and the looks on people’s faces.  Most seemed dazed and confused, others seemed deeply worried, many bordered on real anger, and few seemed genuinely glad to be there.  It was amazing.  In the span of one hour, my self-pity would be erased, and often even replaced with a real sense of contentment.  And in time, I began to feel sorry for the people I was watching, the very same people I had once envied. 

Come to find out, after many years of study and reflection,  that sense of contentment I felt upon leaving the mall, that was my first taste of happiness.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had stumbled onto the secret of happiness.  The secret, of course, is that it is not a secret.  It is at the core of every major religion, it is the essence of the holiday we celebrate this Thursday.  A true sense of gratitude for all that we have, regardless of how grand or how meager, allows us a glimpse of happiness.  

Why that is, I am not completely sure, but I think it has something to do with the fact that gratitude produces a sense of completeness, wholeness.  And in that wholeness, we cease, even if temporarily, we cease pursuing happiness and so let ourselves just be, just be happy.   Just so that we are all clear, happiness is not the absence of pain and suffering.  Pain and suffering are as integral to life as feelings of love and joy.  In fact, the simple truth that we can feel love and joy gives rise to some of our greatest pain and suffering.  The only way to avoid the pain of love lost, the suffering of a losing a loved one, is to have never felt the joy that love brings.  And friends, that is not living.  That is not living.  

Happiness is not the absence of of pain and suffering but it does allow us to recognize our pain and suffering for what it really is, it puts it into perspective.  That is what sitting in the mall gave me, perspective. The perspective that cultural norms and expectations are generally not as fulfilling as they are made out to be; The perspective that things do not make people happy.  The perspective that allowed me to seek happiness in being rather than doing.