While the world celebrates the new year in January, you and I know that the real new year starts in September – schools reopen, parish activities restart, organizations meet again. Apparently only God doesn’t get a vacation during the summer. Hopefully, we don’t take vacations from God!
What would be the best thing we might learn in this new year? Students learn skills to make a living. What about learning skills that make a life? What about learning about how to be happy?
In the spring 2009 issue of Shift: At the Frontiers of Consciousness magazine, there was a fascinating article by Vesela Simic, who wrote about a research study on happiness. Here are some of those conclusions: “Fifty percent of our happiness is genetic; 10 percent is circumstantial, and 40 percent is in our hands to skillfully cultivate.”
What intentional activities tend to boost our happiness? The following conclusions are from the report. The commentary is from me.
1.