Tea at Trianon: Happiness Sustained

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, July 9, 2012

Happiness Sustained

First of all, let me say that I do not believe that there is any lasting happiness in this world. Genuine, everlasting happiness will only be found on the other side. When we focus all of our hopes for happiness in any one person, place or possession, feeling that we cannot be happy without such-and-such a person or such-and-such a place or thing in our lives, then we are certain to be disappointed eventually. It is beyond the power of anything or anyone on earth to be the source of our happiness. In a way, it is asking too much of created things. It is asking too much of life.

However, I do believe that we can and will experience contentment and even joy when we are doing what we know we should be doing, whatever that may be. We will find moments of happiness when going about our business, either at work or home, with family or friends, or alone. As for myself, I find that happiness overtakes me when I am not looking for it. When reading to my child, or toiling in the garden, or washing the dishes, or swimming, or walking by the bay, or any number of mundane tasks, I suddenly realize: "I am happy. Praise God." The feeling may pass, but it is only a feeling. Feelings come and go but actions endure. Love is an act of the will and where love dwells, there will be happiness. The key to this is to remember that in the course of life there will be as many moments when we feel unhappy, trapped and hopeless. It is as important, in those dark moments, to say to ourselves as we do in moments of light: "May God be praised." In those words are perfect joy.

For more thoughts on sustaining happiness, visit the ladies at BlogHer.
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1 comment:

May said...: There's an interview with Princess Grace of Monaco online where she is asked 'are you happy' and she says she does not think we can live in a perpetual state of happiness, although she has had many happy moments in her life.; July 10, 2012 at 9:16:00 PM EDT