In the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence, we read these words,

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

Many people assume that because happiness is listed as an 'unalienable Right', therefore, they should be happy.

Well, first, I am sorry to disappoint all of us, but I must point out, that the Declaration doesn't guarantee that happiness is an unalienable Right. Please re-read the above quote from the Preamble again. What is an unalienable Right is 'the pursuit of Happiness!'

What is guaranteed is that we have is the right to pursue happiness. There is no guarantee that we will be happy or find happiness. What are our Rights are: Life and Liberty. You have to be alive to pursue happiness; you have to have certain liberty or freedom to be able to pursue happiness. What you do with your life and liberty has a lot to do with how successful your pursuit of happiness will be.

Second, I want to remind you what happiness meant when the framers of the Declaration wrote these words. The word, happiness' is from the Greek word, eudaimonia which consists of two words: eu - 'good' and daimon - 'spirit'. To be happy is to be in good spirits. What the ancients meant by being in good spirits is not what we usually mean by being in good spirits - it was not about fine wine, good food and welcoming company. For the ancients, to happy meant to be at peace with oneself and one's world including one's god. Many of the framers of the Declaration had a classical education, they understood this ancient meaning of the word, 'happiness'.

Are we waiting for someone to make us happy? Are we waiting for some circumstance to befall us to make us happy, such as meeting the right person, getting the right job, wining the lottery? Many people tie their happiness to a happening.

People cannot make us happy; we make ourselves happy. We have every right and privlege to pursue all the happiness we want.

I remind all of us that happiness is an inside job. Someone has said, "I am as happy as I make up my mind to be." When we are at peace with our inner spirit, our God and with our world, then we will fulfill our pursuit of happiness.

(c) 2007 Ronald Friesen