Steadfastly miserable

"With money in your pocket, you are wise and you are handsome, and you sing well, too." Yiddish Proverb.

A few years back a network of university economists in Britain produced a report entitled "The Scots May Be Brave, But They are Neither Healthy Nor Happy". It found that Scots were still as miserable as they were in 1973 despite incomes rising more than elsewhere in the UK.

The European Union have a "scale of happiness" which they used to analyse data compiled over a 30 year period. The conclusion being that "the Scots have remained steadfastly miserable for 30 years."

But it is not just 'the Scots who have remained steadfastly miserable'. We still don't seem to understand that increased wealth does not mean increased happiness.

I work in Kew where there are a number of exclusive private schools close by. There are no shortage of BMW's, Mercedes, Audi's, Range Rovers and other assortered expensive 4wd's. Most of them seem to be driven by attractive blond women. I wouldn't mind betting that the husbands cannot sing and are not handsome, but they do have money and so fit the abovementioned proverb perfectly.

I often wonder whether those families are happy. There is plenty of wealth but is there a sense of peace and joy in the home?

I am no expert of course but it seems to me that in spite of all of our learning over the centuries we have moved further away from the source of peace and happiness, God. More than ever we are beholden to possessions and the drive to be happy without God.

Two quotes have caught my attention over the weekend. The first one, either by chance or by divine purpose, I have seen twice, once in an email from a Salvo friend and then on my desk calendar - "The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

The second quote was from the newly elected member for Melbourne, Adam Brandt - "We need more love in this world, not less."

Happiness & love. Two things we desire and yet struggle to obtain.

God is not only the source of love, He is love. In the federal seat of Melbourne, many people from different church denominations work selflessly to demonstrate God's love, yet I would imagine that God's presence would not be acknowledged by too many people. I pray that through people's authenticity God might be seen as the source of love & happiness.