Can We Find Permanent Happiness?

Can we find permanent happiness?


Sometime ago, I went through a rough patch of failing relationships and a deep feeling of unhappiness. I just couldn’t find the right relationship I was looking for, and I was feeling very down.


On a flight home from visiting a friend, I reached out to God in prayer. I asked God what I needed to know to be happy. The answer I got was different from what I expected and it was that I had a purpose. I realized that my unhappiness had come from a feeling that I did not have a purpose at that time. There were career goals I had down the line, that didn’t seem to be a viable thing right now and I had just gotten out of a long term relationship that I had hoped would lead to marriage. I realized that although I wasn’t sure what was going on career-wise, the relationship had made me feel as though I was moving towards something that I wanted in life. But with that ending and still not being sure what I was doing job-wise, I was left without a feeling to purpose.


I prayed and asked God what I was my purpose. I was given the idea to further pursue a career path that had been neglected in my thought. Upon returning home, I started pursuing that work and received several calls for jobs within that week. I became so enthusiastic about my new work and purpose that I completely forgot about the relationship issues.


This was put to the test a couple weeks later when a issue from a past relationship came up. I started to think more about happiness. The concept of the “pursuit of happiness” came to mind. I realized that this was a human belief that was so engrained in us, it was even written in our Declaration of Independence! The human belief was that we are trying to chase something that we don’t have. I pictured someone in hot-pursuit of happiness which was always just out their grasp. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures it states “Happiness is spiritual; born of Truth and Love”. I knew from my study of Christian Science that if happiness was spiritual that meant it was a quality already including in me, since God created me (and all of his creation) spiritually, in His own image and likeness.


I rejoiced in knowing happiness was already included in me and that I didn’t have to try and find it. And since it is “born of Truth and Love” (synonyms from God) that means it comes from God. It didn’t come from a relationship or a job. I finally had learned the truth about happiness, which has sustained from through the years.


In Miscellaneous Writings, Mrs. Eddy writes in essence that a false sense of what constitutes man’s happiness is detrimental to human progress. I am so grateful that I learned where happiness comes from and that all of us can know that our happiness comes from God and we can, therefore, be forever happy, grateful, content and at peace.