The Duty of Being Happy

“There is no duty we so much underrate” wrote Robert Louis Stevenson, “as the duty of being happy.” We think of happiness as being deeply desirable but seldom perhaps think of it as a duty.But it

is a duty for without it life falls short of its full power and purpose. To attempt to define happiness

would be difficult to do, for its formula varies. And among its contradictions is this: the happiest people are not always those that one would expect to be the happiest. But there are some essential elements

that must go into its making, and without these, any so-called happiness would be of a lesser kind and quality. First is faith, with work, and love, and quiet conscience. These four together add up to a sense of peace and purpose, and a sense of rightness within – faith in a loving Father who holds before us

limitless eternal purpose and progress; faith in the ultimate triumph of truth; faith that wrongs will be righted and that there will come an end to discouraging days – and nights – even if the dawn seems long delayed. And then work: There are many kinds of work, but there isn’t much that could be called happiness without purposeful work. And as to love: This is one of the chief attributes of God, and one of the greatest attributes of His children. Without love there is little meaning in life: the love of friends and family – and the love of others also, all of whom are children of our Father. And then, of course, a quiet conscious, free from uncleanness, free from dealing or judging unjustly, and with a willingness to admit mistakes and to make amends. It is difficult to define happiness; but we know when we find it; and we know when we lose it; and we know that all men are looking for it. Others may help to make it. Others often impair it. But it isn’t something that anyone can guarantee to anyone and a quiet conscience. Happiness is indeed a duty, for without it life falls short of its full power and purpose.