Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence in a matter of days, including the reference to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" in the original. The draft he delivered to the Second Continental Congress, even after many rewrites and edits, still contained that stirring phrase. It so completely expressed core American ideals, freedom from tyranny, freedom of self-determination and the freedom to pursue happiness.
In his article entitled "The Meaning of the Pursuit of Happiness," James R. Rogers explores this concept in the context of the time in which Jefferson understood the phrase. In that late 1700's, one might think of "pursuit" as a sense of vocation, a calling. Rogers says, "So the 'pursuit of happiness' means something like occupying one's life with the activities that provide for overall well-being. This certainly includes a right to the ownership and enjoyment of material things, but it goes beyond that to include humanity's spiritual and moral conditions." I interpret this as the freedom to work toward and achieve self-actualization.
Leaping across several centuries of exploration about the meaning of and search for happiness, Maria Popova, the talented curator at Brain Pickings, has assembled a list of 7 Must-Read Books on the Art and Science of Happiness for our reading pleasure. I have savored this list like a child with only 7 pieces of candy remaining from her Halloween stash. This list tempts me to dig in, each tasty morsel promising untold treasures to savor, luring me back time and again to reread the post and imagine the assortment of delectable ideas nestled within those pages. But I resist digging in because I want to prolong the pleasure of, drum roll please, anticipation. Merely savoring the anticipation of something enjoyable creates untold hours of pure happiness for me. And it's free!!!
Now in truth, I have started reading Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. The subject of how to amplify one's daily level of happiness hits such a sweet spot in my nature. It is a key area of fascination as I work toward achieving my sense of self-actualization. Even still, I keep laying the book aside to postpone its inevitable end. I don't want the book to end because I find such happiness in savoring all the subtleties of the ideas she explores.
Gretchen Rubin has mastered the art of distilling ideas into their essence, linking one to the next, articulating a framework which provides thoughtful hook upon which I can organize my own thinking on the subject. So instead, I nibble at at her blog posts, her Facebook page, her Huffington Post and Linked In Influencer posts. I watch her You Tube videos and generally inhale all things Gretchen. For me, the content of all the media she harnesses to her search for greater happiness provides a rich buffet of food for thought. Yes, I confess, I am an unabashed Gretchen Rubin Groupie. More about Gretchen in my next post....
[photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chanc/3159083297/">Christopher Chan</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>]
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