The End of a Remarkable Year!

It has now been several months since I have had a chance to post anything to my Happiness Quest blog.  It isn't becasue I have fallen into a pit of despair - in fact, it's just the opposite.  Exactly one year ago I was in an abyss and I knew that I had to take immediate steps to get myself back on track.  This blog has been such an important part of this journey.  I have learned so much about myself and and my place in the world around me.  All of the lessons probably all should have been obvious, but for many reasons I couldn't see them clearly.

I started out in January trying to figure out why I wasn't happy, given that I do lead a somewhat charmed life.  And I did figure it out.  I have read many, many books this year and every single one of them has taught me something profound.  I have taken each of those threads and woven them into a new tapestry - one that is much more brightly coloured than I could have anticipated.


Willa Cather



There are three books that have had the biggest impact:  The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt, the How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky, and Travelling Light by Max Lucado.  By the end of June I started to think that I had the puzzle figured out and that I should indeed follow Lyubomirsky's advice of taking my 4 key strengths and develop them further, rather than trying to fix things that I'm not that good at.  These 4 strengths are also the things that motivate me the most:  being kind and compassionate to others, finding flow (or peak intellectual stimulation), maintaining optimism and savouring joy. I also kept coming back to a quote by Willa Cather, a great early 20th century American Pulitzer Prize winning novelist.  Haidt quotes her: "At any rate, that is happiness:

to be dissolved into something complete and great".

Essentially, Haidt and Lyubomirsky, Marty Seligman (check out Authentic Happiness) and Daniel Gilbert all agree that you need to figure out what you need to pursue to be your most authentic self  - where you are engaged in something that frees you from the tyranny of modern living and allows you to give back to the world in a way that blesses others.

I realized that I had always wanted to go to grad school and complete a Master's degree - I just couldn't quite land on what program to take.  I knew it wasn't going to be sociology which is what I did my undergrad in - what would I do with an MA in sociology?  It's a miracle I have made a career with my BA! Early in my career I was a federal parole officer and I loved it and have always wanted to return.  I also love history and spend the majority of my vacations chasing down historical sites.  I have spent hours reading philosophy from Socrates to Descartes.  I also love theology and pastoral care counselling.  I realized that I could combine all of these areas of interest into a single Master's program, so in August I thought I would apply to take one course this fall.  That turned into my late and unexpected acceptance into the full Master of Divinity program at Tyndale Seminary - Class of 2014 :-) 

Continuum of Happiness

What a marvellous fall I have had.  Going back to school full time while working full time has been an exciting challenge.  I have never loved studying more.  I am hoping to be a Chaplain in a correctional facility at the end of all of this - after I retire  from my current job.  My boss has allowed me to flex my hours at work so that I can take a compulsory daytime course.  My family has been amazing! I now know for sure what happiness looks like - I see it in the mirror every day. What is the most intersting thing of all is that it turns out Dorothy was right in the Wizard of Oz - if you can't find happiness in your own backyard maybe you never really lost it to begin with.  My own Continuum of Happiness and my Happiness Cycle, that I designed very early in the year, held the key all along...

Happiness Cycle

My blog will continue in the New Year.  I am looking forward to seeing how the journey continues - I hope you will journey with me...