true happiness

to many, finding true happiness is a universal aspiration.

genuine happiness can't be faked, said Matthieu Ricard. after mri scanning in a wisconsin lsb in 2004,this man was tested off the charts, earning him his unusual scientific world title 'the happiest man in the world'.

this 64-yr old man is an author, photographer, former molecular geneticist and a researcher. his basic religious belief is buddhism.

matthieu quoted,"happiness is a deep sense of flourishing that arises from an exceptionally healthy mind. it's not what's happening around us that makes us unhappy, but rather the way we choose to react to it!"

i like it when he linked true happiness to a cluster of qualities that we can develop as skills like openness, genuine altruistic love, compassion inner strength, inner peace and inner contentment.

he further added that ego and self-centredness are the biggest threats to true happiness. taking focus off ourselves and concentrating on showing compassion to others is the beginning.

summing up his motto,"we need to nurture loving kindness, unconditional love, an act of generosity with no strings attached...and inner peace/ strength and contentment. together, those make a way of being - and that's what genuine happiness is all about'"

of course, on my part, knowing our creator and saviour is the most important truth that helps us live an enriched life.

amen.