Breathe, just breathe. Inhale all the good things in life and exhale all the bad; yet this is so hard for us to do. Finding happiness is a struggle that we all face. We strive for understanding and perfection; wanting everything to go as planned, but they don’t. Dwelling on our mistakes we forget our accomplishments. And then in the end find ourselves broken, fragmented, stressed, and afraid; then we give up. We give up on trying to find happiness, because we feel that it can never be found.

What is happiness? Such a worldwide question that everyone attempts to answer. Merriam-Webster Dictionary says that happy is, “Feeling pleasure and enjoyment because of your life, situation, etc.”; which has truth to it, but should we be happy because we are in a pleasant situation or should we be happy in all situations? A positive psychology researcher, Sonja Lyubomirsky, describes happiness as “…a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.” Sonja expresses a truth that happiness is a sense that one’s life is meaningful and worthwhile. Both of these sources have good points on happiness, but what does the bible have to say about happiness? Within many verses (a few of them: Ecclesiastes 2:26 and 3:12, Philippians 4:19) God tells us that only through Him can we find true bliss; and that you will only be content when you learn to fully embrace the life He has given you, and  when you learn to love yourself for whose you are.

   The realization of true bliss was a hard journey for me. Before, I went through a period of sadness and I was completely miserable. My feeling of un-contentment and self-hatred devoured me. Never feeling happy, I would concentrate on the negative things in my life and strived for a false perfection. I would plan every detail of my life out; and worry myself sick about the future. In school, I would mentally stress myself by making sure everything I did was absolutely perfect. And if I did make a mistake in school, I hated myself for it. I would also compare my self-worth, beauty, and life to others around me. Of course I could never achieve the picture-perfect life and the flawless looks, so I hated myself for it. I began to build this utopian world in my mind, and I thought the only way to be happy was to become perfect.

   I remember one day just breaking down crying, wishing that I could feel this happiness that I have yearned to feel. I got on my knees and prayed to God, asking him to help me. Something in me broke that day; as if all the pieces fit together. I realized how much God loves me and how all this time I have been pushing Him away. As time went on I found myself growing closer to the Lord as I started to rely on him for happiness. Within my relationship God, He revealed these things to me:  1. Life is short and you need to know that perfection is the enemy of true happiness. 2. Accept the life that you are given and realize all the many blessings God has given you. 3. Understand that true bliss comes from looking in the mirror and loving who you are, because God made you. These realizations took me several months to actually believe and to live out.

   With my journey I have come to conclusion that people have distorted the vision of happiness. The media has destroyed peoples mind to think that only when their false perfection is meet you will be happy. But this is completely wrong; happiness is fulfilled when you can embrace life and love yourself. It’s meet when you can understand that life is worth living and  know that God has made you. True bliss comes from realizing that you are sinful and will make mistakes, but through Christ you are made holy (Romans 3:23-24 and Hebrews 10:10).

Happiness is found when you look in the mirror and are satisfied with what you have; stop striving for false perfection, because perfection can’t even be defined. Stop the race; stop trying to rush through life to get to your destination, because happiness is the way you live life not where you end up. Travel down the road slow and make sure to stop to smell the roses. Savor all the sweet and beautiful moments in life; bury them deep in your pocket so that you may pull them out on a rainy day. Rely on the Lord for everything and understand that He loves you; walk with Him and do not stray. You must realize that happiness is learned and developed within your relationship with God, and cannot given to you by others. Don’t forget that contentment doesn't come from getting something; it comes from recognizing the blessings you already have. God is the beholder of your bliss; and you are the only one who can accept yourself and your life He has given you, and make the most of each day. The Lord is the key and life is the lock; once you find your key, you are able to fully unlock life and blossom into the beauty of your true self. So I ask you; do you prefer true bliss or false perfection?