On March 17th, 2019, the International Day of Happiness was celebrated for the 4th time in a row in Zurich.
The celebration was on the theme of “How to create happiness”.
After a few songs evoking happiness, several passages of World Scripture were read.
“If by giving up a lesser happiness one may behold a greater one, let the wise man give up the lesser happiness in consideration of the greater happiness.” – Dhammapada 290 (Buddhism)
Let there arise out of you a group of people, inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong; they are the ones to attain happiness and prosperity.
Qur’an 3.104
Lao Tan said, "He who attains Perfect Beauty and wanders in Perfect Happiness may be called the Perfect Man."
Chuang Tzu 21 (Taoism)
“Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it.”
Science and Health, 57 (Christian Science)
True peace, true happiness and true freedom do not originate from human beings, but from the true God. Therefore, we can expect that people who are not living in accordance with God’s Will, or who are entangled in sinful circumstances, cannot attain true peace, true happiness or true freedom. (Sun Myung Moon, May 6, 1975)
“Power, wealth, and knowledge, which worldly people ordinarily desire, are not the necessary and sufficient conditions for peace and happiness. True happiness is not proportional to how much property you own, nor is it obtained by multiplying external comforts. The only sure way to obtain genuine peace and limitless happiness is to live for others and give to others with true love; when those deeds go around they will return to you.” (Sun Myung Moon, June 11, 1998)
Just as in a family, where the basis of the parents’ happiness is when they have children, it is likewise unmistakable that God’s purpose in searching for humanity is to attain His own happiness through His children. There is no basis for God’s happiness if human beings are excluded. (Sun Myung Moon, 32:197, July 15, 1970)
Showing different examples, Chantal emphasized the fact that happiness requires both physical and spiritual needs to be fulfilled and that our "developed" societies tend to forget the spiritual side of a human being, ending up having more and more cases of suicide, addictions and divorces. Even the 17 SDG (Sustainable development goals 2030 of the UN) mention almost exclusively external aims. When we only focus on material things, we always end up feeling unjustly treated, jealous, envious... all things that turn us into victims to somebody, unable of feeling happy. SDG 14 is about quality education. This should include internal knowledge and discussions on the purpose in life, on development of heart and character and on the preparation to become a mature spouse and parent. This kind of education includes sports and training to better unite mind and body and activities for the sake of the community. Making great goals, reading inspiring words of truth and repeating empowering words like "I am happy for being loved by God" until we feel them deeply, that is letting all the contradictory thoughts come and go, all these are tools to continue to progress towards becoming an actor of change. With that kind of understanding and ability, we can create happiness to ever growing levels from an individual expanding to the whole world. Let's all create a heavenly family of 3 generations to experience the greatest happiness with our Heavenly Parent!
