How Happy Are You?

YES, you might well ask yourself, ‘How happy am I?’ Social scientists are trying hard to find out how you or others would answer, but their task is not an easy one. Measuring the happiness of individuals might be likened to attempting to quantify the love that a man has for his wife or the amount of grief that is caused by a death in the family. Emotions do not lend themselves to precise measurement. However, scientists do recognize a basic truth: All humans have the capacity for being happy.

Despite that built-in capacity for happiness, serious problems have brought a plague of unhappiness. Consider this example: In some cities, AIDS victims have filled the cemeteries. Authorities are reopening older graves in order to bury those recently deceased. In parts of Africa, coffinmaking is a major means of employment. And no matter where you live, you have seen that there are few smiles among those suffering from serious disease and among those who have lost relatives and friends.

What about more prosperous places? A sudden turn of events can snatch financial security from the unprepared. In the United States, many retired people have had to go back to work because they lost pension benefits. Medical bills often consume all the savings that a family has. “You see these people come in with huge costs and health problems and it breaks your heart,” says one legal adviser. “A lot of times you have to tell them, ‘You’re going to lose your home.’” But what about those who have no financial worries? Might unhappiness affect them too?

Some individuals are like the famous composer Richard Rodgers. It was said of him: “Few men have given so much pleasure to so many people.” Even though his songs contributed to others’ pleasure, he suffered from chronic depression. He reached the twin goals to which many aspire​—money and fame—​but what about happiness? One biographer observed: “[Rodgers] became extraordinarily successful in his work, enjoyed a privileged life, and shared two Pulitzer Prizes. He was also unhappy and depressed much of the time.”

As you may have observed, looking to wealth for happiness is often deceptive. An investment reporter for The Globe and Mail of Toronto, Canada, described the “isolation and emptiness” that many well-to-do people endure. According to one financial adviser, when wealthy parents shower their children with money and the things it can buy, “often the seeds are being planted for misery later on.”

 Any Solid Basis for Happiness?

To flourish, a flowering plant needs good soil, water, and a proper climate. Likewise, researchers recognize that certain conditions contribute to happiness. These include physical well-being; good work; adequate food, shelter, and clothing; fulfillment of creative desires; and true friends.

You would probably not dispute the effect those conditions have on a person’s prospects for being happy. But there is a more important factor. It is knowledge of “the happy God,” whose name is Jehovah. (1 Timothy 1:11) How does that knowledge help? Jehovah is our Creator, and he gave us the capacity for being happy. Logically, he knows what can make us truly happy. The following article describes his way of directing people in any location or circumstance to a life of enduring happiness.

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Like a flowering plant, happiness needs proper conditions in order to grow

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© Gideon Mendel/​CORBIS