Where Do I Find Happiness? #
In ancient times, a wise man was asked: What is most precious to a person?
“Time,” he answered; through time one can acquire everything, but time itself cannot be bought for anything; it is not within man’s power either to prolong his day even by a single minute, or to reclaim even a single moment.
In the boundless expanse of eternity, a human lifetime is no more than a drop in the ocean; yet even in this brief span, if rightly used, one can gain an entire eternity of joy and bliss — just as through misuse, one can incur an eternity of torment. In this world, there is no greater concern than the passing of time, and yet there is no greater misuse than the passing of time…
Our cares and concerns are limited to the earthly: the goods and pleasures of this world so vividly and strongly captivate us that before them all else fades; eternity vanishes from our thoughts and rarely visits our souls…
We wish one another some kind of happiness — and wish for a new kind at that — yet even the old happiness is nowhere to be found: it flees from mankind. In every rank and station, dissatisfaction is often heard. All seek and strive for happiness, but few find it where it truly dwells.
Is Happiness in Wealth and Glory? #
Most often, people seek happiness in the external goods of life: in wealth, fame, honors, high standing in society, ranks, distinctions, worldly joys and pleasures. Yet these earthly enjoyments cannot satisfy the human heart. The more wealth and honors a person has, the more his desire for them grows. Mountains of gold are too little for greed; thrones are too low for ambition; palaces cannot contain the desires of man…
There were conquerors who succeeded in subjugating half the world, but even they were tormented by the thought that the other half was not in their grasp. There were men of wealth, like Croesus and Solomon, to whom treasures from all the world flowed like a river, but even they, before their deaths, confessed and declared before all the world that everything under the sun is vanity of vanities, nothing but the vexation of spirit (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
All the goods of this world, all the earthly joys and pleasures so earnestly wished for one another, in themselves scarcely deserve such earnest desires. Honor and fame impose more obligations than they provide nourishment for the heart. Whoever is awaited by glory is also awaited by sorrow.
Wealth adds many cares and anxieties. It is not without reason that the ancient sage said: “The care of riches driveth away sleep” (Sirach 31:1).
Here is a man gathering treasures, multiplying riches, thinking to enjoy them in gladness, yet even through heaps of gold bitter tears stream from his eyes, and the glittering treasures do not gladden his gaze, clouded with sorrow, and in his magnificent halls, bitter cries are heard.
Here is a man surrounding himself with pleasures and amusements, plunging into bodily and sensual enjoyments to drown out the hidden grief of his heart: but even through the sounds of lyres and tambourines, are not heavy sighs often heard? And does not this noisy merriment leave behind an even greater emptiness and heaviness in the heart, a deeper boredom and despondency of spirit?
Add to this the fact that the modern pursuit of material goods and their uneven distribution has sharpened tensions between different classes of society, and this enmity threatens to erupt into open conflict, casting the glow of fires across the entire civilized world. Discontent among the masses is growing because their needs are growing, and it is impossible to satisfy them all.
Add also that envy and slander, flattery and hypocrisy, cunning and treachery swirl around the rich, the noble, and the jubilant, stealing away their peace and contentment.
Where, then, is happiness?!
Is Happiness in Knowledge? #
In the pursuit of happiness today, even spiritual goods have not been left untouched. Many now seek happiness in intellectual development and education.
Undoubtedly, science improves all aspects of human life and leads humanity forward along the path of development and perfection: it makes man more knowledgeable and reasonable, crowning him as the king of all creation; toward it all the efforts of the human mind are directed; in it people hope to find deliverance from all the misfortunes and disorders of life, and with its help to open the path to human happiness.
“Blessed is he who finds wisdom” (Sirach 25:12). Yet contemporary life gives us far from what human reason would expect.
The light of enlightenment pours abundantly upon us, but it does not warm us; it illumines our minds, excites them, sometimes drives them to strenuous and exhausting labors, but it does not warm our hearts with the warmth of love toward the All-wise Creator and Provider, and often leads them away from faith in Him.
Today there is much intellect among people, but little heart; it is dry and hardened. There is much intellect, yet good and moral life has not become higher and purer; on the contrary, with the spread of education, it has fallen into decline. All our efforts in modern education are directed toward developing only the intellect in man. Intellect, they say, is that power in man which opens before him the doors to the sanctuary of the sciences, leading him to higher education, to more honorable knowledge and positions.
In moral and religious matters, children are given full freedom, as though their will would, of itself, fall upon the path of goodness and truth. And thus, in the soul of man, pride is born in place of humility, and cold self-love in place of love. Therefore, it is not surprising that intellectual development in our society grows and spreads, yet happiness and peace recede farther and farther from mankind.
The very path to the sanctuary of science is long and exceedingly arduous; for every traveler it brings much sorrow and costs many tears; and sometimes it gives him the seeds of various illnesses, which often prematurely lead him to the grave. “Much study is a weariness of the flesh” (Ecclesiastes 12:12).
Look closely at those who have traversed this whole path—how many among them are content and happy? One man’s soul is poisoned with the venom of doubt; another finds no peace because of the tumults and upheavals in public life from which men suffer; a third has his heart gnawed by the worm of self-love, which forbids him, despite his high education, to engage in humble labors. In short, even among the enlightened, there is much dissatisfaction, but little happiness.
Is Happiness in Love? #
People also seek happiness in the union of friendship and love. This union greatly lightens the burdens of life. It is a joy to have a faithful friend, a devoted and selfless heart that rejoices in your joys and shares your sorrows. Life flows especially brightly and peacefully when a man’s family life is founded on the union of love. What pure and peaceful joys does it then bring into a man’s world! How many delights it offers on this sorrowful path of life!
But here is our misfortune: sincere unions of friendship and love are becoming increasingly rare among us. Whether our hearts have grown harder, or whether self-love has grown greater within us, it cannot be denied that today honest and sincere friendship has become a rarity. And family ties are beginning to inspire fear; many flee from them in order to escape the inevitable anxieties, cares, and possible misfortunes. In entering into the marriage bond, mutual love is treated as a minor matter, and material benefits are made the chief concern of the union. It is no wonder, then, that without sincere mutual love, family life brings no happiness.
Is Happiness in Labor? #
Finally, people seek happiness in honest labor and the peace of conscience that accompanies it. In quiet contentment, a man enjoys the earthly goods won by his unceasing toil. Yet we know that even the most honest laborers are not spared from misfortunes and sorrows; their lives are often poisoned by illnesses and the weakness of body, which prevent them from working; by human greed, which sometimes robs a man of his very last piece of bread; by shortsightedness, which fails to value the laborer according to his merits; and by many other hardships.
Thus, no earthly source of happiness can quench the thirst of our heart. Gather together all the joys and pleasures of earth and bestow them upon one man, and still he will say: “All this availeth me nothing” (Esther 5:13).
There Is No Perfect Happiness on Earth! #
Full and unchanging happiness here on earth is not and never will be ours. All the achievements of the intellect and all the efforts of human will are powerless to create a paradise on earth. All the fleeting goods of life are bought at the price of heavy toil, accompanied by the weariness and collapse of the spirit. All the joys of life are mingled with bitter deprivations and sorrows.
In the stormy sea of life, joy is drawn out in drops, while sorrow is drawn in full cups. Fleeting time even changes our very pursuit of this illusory happiness. With the passing of years, we ourselves change: youth has passed, and with it everything that once occupied us, delighted us, or saddened us. Another time comes, and we are no longer what we once were: we no longer delight in what once pleased us; we no longer desire what we once sought. And what, in the end, remains of all that once captivated our hearts on earth? There lie the graves of our brethren! Can one distinguish here the dust of the wise from that of the ignorant, the noble from the commoner, the rich from the poor? Is it not the same handful of dust that remains from the body of each? After seeing this, how can one be enamored with the phantom of earthly happiness, how can one set the goal of life in it, and sacrifice heart and conscience for it?
Happiness in Faith #
In the whirlwind of human vanity and changeability, one thing alone has stood and continues to stand firm and unshakable through the centuries: the Christian faith. It is the victory that overcomes the world; it is the only guide that sanctifies our path of life like a bright guiding star. In it, the Christian finds an inexhaustible source of happiness and blessedness.
The All-blessed God created man for blessedness and points the way to it through union with Himself: “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God” (John 17:3). With this highest happiness in our life, no other can cloud our minds, and no sorrow can disturb our hearts unto despair.
The most renowned seeker of happiness on earth and the great sage of antiquity, Solomon, proclaimed in his book written before his death: “I perceived that there is nothing better for them, than to be joyful, and to do good in their lives. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour—it is the gift of God” (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13). “For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up” (Ecclesiastes 2:26). Therefore: “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
Here is where man’s happiness lies, and where it must be sought. Happiness is found in contentment with one’s condition, without excessive cares about the distant future and without envious eyes cast upon the seemingly happy state of one’s neighbor. Happiness lies in the satisfaction of the essential needs of our nature, happiness in the joy of the heart, happiness in the brightness of the spirit, happiness in labor whose goal is goodness, happiness in keeping the commandments of God and in the fear of God. “The wicked have no joy, thus they have no happiness” (Psalm 57:21).
True piety is the source of true happiness; with it, the entire science of being happy becomes simple: love your duties and seek enjoyment in them. Labor for the good of your neighbor, be temperate in life, have the fear of God, believe and hope—and you will gain that inner happiness, that inner steadfastness and bright invincibility of spirit, that firmness of the wise man and the Christian, through which deprivations, adversities, and even the terror of death will be powerless to harm you.
Happiness Within #
“The Kingdom of God, the source of your happiness, is within you” (Luke 17:21)—so it was proclaimed from heaven in answer to humanity wandering in darkness and questioning the meaning of life. Happiness does not depend on external circumstances but on the inner state of the heart. Everywhere people chase after happiness, but it is within us, in our hearts, into which we almost never look. Only the heart can reward us with true peace, and thus, with happiness.
Do not seek anything outside your soul, Christian; all is within it. A change of position, place, and time gives nothing to man. The rich and the noble grieve and are tormented by devouring boredom, while the poor and the humble are cheerful, peaceful, and content. On a splendid bed insomnia torments, but on a rough mat and in coarse sackcloth one can hear the sleep of a giant.
Remember the ascetics and men of strong spirit, not only those distant from us but even those near to us, who spent many years in one and the same place, among the same people, under the same conditions. How deep, attractive, and life-giving was the outlook of our Peters, Alexeis, Philips, Macariuses, Pauls, and others upon the vast world surrounding them! How many people came to them for a word of guidance, a refreshing kindness, and love! Many received rich consolation from them not only during their lives but still receive it even now after their deaths through their loving writings. These simpletons-philosophers had firsthand experience of the independence and contentment that comes from the limitation of one’s needs.
The more habits a man has, the more he binds himself with fetters. Every habit, every attachment, every passion binds not only here on earth but even more so when “the fashion of this world passeth away” (1 Corinthians 7:31) and when the new heaven and the new earth arrive (Revelation 21:1). A soul entangled in various attachments, having passed into another world and finding there nothing to satisfy them in the new order of life, will languish and bear hell within itself.
The earthly habits we now fear to part with will then torment our spirit more fearfully than any torments. Therefore, what we must part with eventually, it is better to part with sooner, lest our attachments grow and the eventual separation become unbearably painful. We must beforehand and gradually free our soul from the yoke of passions, restoring its dominion over itself, lest we be enslaved by anything (1 Corinthians 6:12).
Each person must reform his heart, renew his mind, cleanse his conscience, in a word, transform himself. The full depth and power of Christ’s commandment, “Let him deny himself” (Luke 9:23), the Russian people have uniquely expressed in the wise proverb: “It is good everywhere where we are not,” meaning, where there is no “us”—no self-love.
To establish within oneself this unearthly happiness while still on earth and to prepare oneself for blessed eternity—this is the goal and labor of earthly life. To build within oneself this “Kingdom of God,” there is no need to flee far away from the perhaps small and humble field of labor where one is placed, nor to separate oneself from the people with whom one’s real life is bound.
The “Kingdom of God” must be built in the circumstances in which each one is placed by the will of God; it is not apart from others that one must seek the heaven to which we are called, but among them and through them—through active communion with our neighbors in this world by good words, good deeds, prayer, and love.
The Spirit of Christ does not forbid the satisfaction of man’s natural needs; it does not insist upon fleeing from family or society. It allows for civic duties, military obligations, commerce and trade, the pursuit of knowledge and the arts—but it transforms all these into means for growth in the spirit, for the acquisition of heavenly goods, for pleasing God.
The Spirit of Christ establishes a right relationship to earthly goods—as means for acquiring heavenly ones; it teaches us to desire them without passion or attachment, to ask for them from the Lord without insistence or impatience, to labor for their acquisition without excessive restlessness, and to part with them without regret or complaint.
Labor, O Christian, each according to his calling and within the circle of his duties; labor on earth for heaven, make progress in seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33)—and a contented, joyful heart will beat within your breast.
A Christian
Journal “The Word of the Church,” No. 2, 1917.