Don’t Worry. Be Happy.

Don’t worry. Be happy. Such seemingly profound and simple advice.

Perhaps you know of people who seem to move through life in a relatively carefree manner. They may face the same kinds of challenges common to man, but troubles seem to roll off them like rain on a Scotchgard-coated duck. Is there a secret to this?

Something we do know should have us a bit puzzled and troubled. “Happiness” is on the decline. We know this because of results presented in the General Social Survey. They can prove that Americans are increasingly UNHAPPY. When I turned 21 in 1972, our citizens who said they were “very happy” outnumbered those who said they were “not too happy” by about three-to-one. By last year, big turnaround. The unhappy crowd now outnumber the happies among us by 5%!

I assume you know there is such a thing as the World Happiness Report. It ranks nations using measurement tools like overall well-being, diversity, a clean environment, housing, and political stability, among others. From the bottom up, top ten countries on the 2021 World Happiness Report list include Australia. Sweden, New Zealand, Canada, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, and Finland.

Only one of those countries showed up on the list of nations with the highest divorce rates: Denmark. And none of the countries listed above rank among places where suicide is the highest. (FYI, Russia made BOTH lists.)

We also know suicide rates in the US have been increasing in recent years, with 2021 an exception. It’s been also documented that depression among adults in our country tripled in the early 2020 months of COVID-19,—jumping from 8.5 percent before the pandemic to a staggering 27.8 percent. Research from the Boston University School of Public Health showed an elevated rate of depression not only persisted into 2021, but worsened, affecting 1 in every 3 American adults.

I’m not an expert on the subject of happiness. But I do have a grasp on it. I say this because I’ve been blessed to travel a fair bit overseas. I’ve visited communities best described as “squalor.” I’ve sat among souls who have been persecuted for their religious faith and must move in secret to survive. I’ve sat with people like Joni Eareckson Tada whose diving accident at 17 in the Chesapeake Bay left her a quadriplegic.

In each of these situations, there is no void of happiness. These people face a lot more obstacles in life than most of us. But their internal mechanisms of emotion are not controlled by circumstance.

Contrast this to a woman who had “everything going for her": Cheslie Kryst. Not only was she a Division I athlete, Cheslie had earned a law degree and an MBA at Wake Forest University. As a civil litigation attorney, she performed pro bono work for inmates.

And she had God-given beauty! Cheslie won the Miss USA pageant in 2019 and later a top ten spot at the Miss Universe competition. This opened doors for her to become a correspondent for the entertainment news program, Extra.

Then, just over a week ago, this glamorous 30-year-old woman jumped from a high-rise on West 42nd Street in midtown Manhattan. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The next day, the medical examiner said she died by suicide.

Apparently, about a year ago, Cheslie had written an essay in which she said, “I discovered that the world’s most important question, especially when asked repeatedly and answered frankly, is: why?...Why work so hard to capture the dreams I’ve been taught by society to want when I continue to only find emptiness?”

With all she had going for her, Cheslie lacked the simplest of things: true happiness. Millions are missing the same thing today.

Happiness and joy go hand-in-hand with a deep sense of inner peace—the state of being where all is well.

Jesus of Nazareth said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (ESV)

Yes, tribulation surrounds us. When spiritually centered, we need not worry. And we can…be happy.

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com

Articles of interest:

https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/depression-rates-tripled-when-pandemic-first-hit/

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-happiest-people-in-the-world.html