How do you feel when you hear the words 'happy thief'? How about 'happy murderer'? What if I said 'happy terrorist'? Doesn't the very combination of those words make you feel uncomfortable? Don't you feel disgusted at these thoughts? Let's extend the principle a little further to even more common issues. How do you feel when you hear 'happy addict', or 'happy adulterer'? In your mind do you not naturally picture all these people as miserable?
Now let's do the reverse as another exercise. Let's look at virtues and match them with 'happy'. How do you feel when you hear the words 'happy forgiveness'? What about 'happy family man'? What about 'happy teacher'? Let's go even further with it, to deeper issues. How do you feel if I say, "happy integrity" or even, "happy prayer"? Aren't these last combinations just heartwarming and soothing to hear? Some of us may feel some discomfort, but most or all of these ideas would be happy if you could just have a bit more faith in your ability to do them, or in their effectiveness.
I believe at some level we all know what's good and what's bad, what will make us happy and what will make us sad. Doing bad things makes us sad. Doing good things makes us happy. There is a wonderful scripture in the Book of Mormon that encapsulates this perfectly, "Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness." (Alma 41:10) What a beautiful and profound verse - so simple and yet it can completely change the way we think about happiness.
Every day we do things we know at some level will not bring us happiness, thinking we need it, thinking that we'll be unhappy if we don't do it. First thing in the morning, when you hit the snooze button on that alarm, you are choosing laziness. How do you feel when you hear the words 'happy laziness'? It's kind of funny, isn't it? We laugh because we all do it and it feels good, but we know it's not really happiness. It's a short-lived pleasure accompanied by regret, fear of failure, and lower self-esteem. Are you really more confident, more secure, or more hopeful about that day if you hit that snooze button? Wouldn't you be an overall happier person if you overcame even that little habit?
What about something we can easily do each day that brings us real happiness? We can do something nice for someone else. We can listen to them, compliment them, make food for them, even share something uplifting with them. I also have personal experience with the impact of prayer. Prayer, where we are humble and trust in a loving God and His will for us, can bring peace and hope. I have found no more joy in my life than in following the admonition of Jesus, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." (Luke 10:27)
Real happiness comes when we make others happy. A sense of pleasure may come from unvirtuous, selfish behaviors, but it is short-lived and superficial. It is in fact, the whole essence of addiction. Addiction feeds off of the idea that an unhealthy thing will fix our unhappiness, but yet it only offers temporary relief and scientific research confirms that the addiction becomes gradually less effective and overall happiness chemicals in the brain continue to drop. When we do unwise or unhealthy things to make us happier, the result is that we are a more miserable person overall. We need to choose virtue, to choose selflessness, to choose to make the happiness of others as important to us as our own happiness. Then we need to actively do something about it. Wickedness never was happiness, but genuinely selfless love always is.
