Dear Friends,
When say “Happy New Year,” what are we wishing for?
Research suggests that some people have a predisposition toward happiness, whether due to genes or early socialization (parent alert!), and that while sustainable income also contributes, in the United States increments above $75,000 a year do not yield equivalent increments in happiness.
CNN asked five faith leaders “What makes people happy?” They answered “that happiness comes from meaning and purpose in life. It’s in your heart and soul and can come from helping others” (http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/20/what-makes-people-happy/). Two Christians said believing in Jesus leads to happiness. The other three respondents said: engaging relationships, good works, connection to loved ones and to humanity; to make other people happy; the fullest utilization of your talent, and knowing when you had made someone’s life better.
Aristotle suggested that the goal of life is happiness or well-being. The Greek word often translated as happiness is eudaimonia, literally eu = good + daimon = demon. The prefix eu is familiar in eu-logy (eu-logos), to speak good words and eu-thanasia (eu-thanatos), to have a good death. The Greek word daimon can be translated spirit, whether good or evil. We think of evil spirits when we use the word demon. But, in its Greek origin, it means a deity, divinity, or spirit that can be either good or evil.
Since we use the word happiness in such trivial (the movie made me feel happy) as well as deep ways, other words that might express it are “an active and ongoing sense of well-being” – recognizing that there are counter-moments when things are not going so well. A happy life is life in which a person is filled with a good spirit because they are actively actualizing their potential as an individual and as a member of a community, which includes relating to and helping others.
Being at CTS makes me happy. My wish for you is that being at CTS will contribute to your well-being in the New Year, as we actively sing, pray and contribute to the well-being of one another, as well as those who are not part of our gathered and worshipping community.
Pastor Hoehn
P.S. To learn more, read Thomas Nagel, “Who Is Happy and When?” and his review of Sisela Bok, Exploring Happiness: From Aristotle to Brain Science, and Derek Bok, The Politics of Happiness: What Government Can Learn from the New Research on Well-Being, in “The New York Review of Books,” Dec. 23, 2010, pp. 46-48. Or, read their books.
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