Happiness Is More Than Money…

2-27pm

There is a well-repeated statement: ‘Money doesn’t buy happiness.’  Wealthy people may well believe this statement to be true. Those of us who fall into a regular income bracket may suspect it is true. Those who are struggling to make ends meet cannot imagine that it is true.

So here is ‘Happiness According to Helga!’

Happiness can be defined as a sense of well-being, including contentment.  The Bible tell us that contentment is learned. If happiness is contentment and contentment can be learned, then happiness can be learned. That comes down to another Biblical principle of controlling our thought life. If we practice remembering what God wants for us, we will soon discover that He wants us to live a positive, abundant, happy life. So it becomes a matter of grabbing all the stressed out, highly strung, anxious thoughts and blowing them to smithereens by replacing them with the promises of the Bible. That’s the spiritual side of happiness.

When it comes to the practical working out of happiness in our lives, especially when you don’t have a lot of money, I believe it comes from lowering expectations and thinking out the box. You don’t need to stay in a 5 star hotel to enjoy one. Visiting a magnificent hotel and walking through the gardens or sitting in the lounge and having a cup of coffee will give you probably more contentment than staying there and shelling out a fabulous amount of money, that you can’t afford. You don’t need to live up to the neighbours.

I love looking at houses and imagining…today, while walking in Clovelly, I saw this house and thought, ‘wow, with that quaint little balcony, we could be in Italy!’

And here we could be somewhere in the Mediterranean…

Embracing small things in life can bring an amazing amount of pleasure.  Truffles is the one big blessing who unexpectedly arrived in our home this year, bringing with her far more joy and free entertainment than we would ever have imagined…I delight in finding her in odd places…like on top of a cupboard…Cat In A Hat…

Try move beyond the stress and stop to smell the roses or enjoy the view…Cape Town sure has enough of them…

Research has been done on the link between money and happiness and the bottom line is this: “No matter how you turn it, research says once your basic needs are taken care of, money and other rewards don’t make you happier.” You can read more by copying and pasting this link into your URL line:

http://www.alternet.org/story/153887/the_fascinating_scientific_reason_why_%22money_doesn%27t_buy_happiness%22?page=0%2C1

It may be difficult to be content while in need, but God knows your needs and you can be happy through Christ who gives you strength. Keep hanging onto Him, whatever your needs! He is there for you!

Philippians 4:11-13 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.

God bless you loads!

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂