Connect the Dots

7/14/08: Happiness is what greases the wheels of life. It's also what opens the floodgates, marshals the forces, commands the elements, raises the sun, aligns the stars, beats your heart, heals what hurts, turns the page, makes new friends, finds true love, calls the shots, waves the wand, connects the dots, feeds your mind, frees your soul, rocks the world, and pays compound interest. Yeah, so easy to forget. [Courtesy of Mike Dooley © www.tut.com:]

A sweet young woman named Ellen sent this quote to me. Two things about it struck me: first, happiness “pays compound interest.” True happiness comes from love in my estimation. And love definitely “pays compound interest.”

An instructor we watch every day keeps such a happy attitude that everyone enjoys being around her. And her loving concern shows every time she listens to one of the students. But she is “zany” happy, too. The students know that they will have fun in her class if for no other reason than because she will tell them about something she did as a young person that was just over the top—something totally un-teacher like.

Something special resides within that zany teacher. A deeper happiness comes out that does not depend on circumstances; it is the principal—what she—and we—can bank on beyond the vagaries of stocks, bonds, and interest rates. And all she needs to do is be aware of needs—those of her family and those of others. Her “pocketbook” is so deep that she will never be bankrupt, never have to borrow or go without. She has an unlimited wealth. And all she has to do is continue to give.

Ok, the second part of the quote matters: it is “so easy to forget.” I’ve seen our favorite teacher cry and cringe and have deep sorrow lately. Does that mean she has an overdrawn account? Did she stop giving and can no longer collect her dues? No, she can still feel pain and still feel frustration even though her happiness has been covered over by a bleakness that is not of her making. She hasn’t forgotten her happiness. She merely has to be quiet and wait and listen for the “still quiet voice” to renew her spirit of happiness. No loud voice will thunder down from a mountain top. No bush is likely to burn on the hillside. No prophet will knock on her door. I suspect that a day will dawn when she will wake up happier than ever. She will again carry her wand around the classes and spread her energy and love with just as much enthusiasm as she has ever shown.

I wonder if she will dress as Alice in Wonderland again this Halloween. Hmm. I wonder if I can get a great big hat to go with my pocket watch and go as the Mad Hatter. Oh, I am late; I am late for a VERY important date! I have to go to my BANK and fill my pockets, my mind, and my heart.

Besides, I need to sharpen my pencil so I can connect all the dots.