Smile

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

To me, this sounds like a positive version of "Fake it till yo u make it."  I like it. A lot.


I would say I have a ready smile. I would also say that my smile usually reflects feelings of joy. And I admit that my ready smile has been a little less ready of late. So, I'm going to give this philosophy a test. 


Can putting a smile on my face, even if I don't feel joy inside, bring me joy? We shall see!

Only Two Choices?

Right now I'm reading a book called The Moral Sense by James Q. Wilson. It is fascinating. In his final chapter he talks some about how we identify and "measure" pleasure. He implies that there is some other standard or measure besides just pleasure by which which we judge and evaluate the actions we take in search of pleasure:

". . . saying one pleasure is better than another implies the existence of some standard other than pleasure by which to judge things. This is obvious to anyone who has sought pleasure in the reckless satisfaction of the bodily appetites only to discover that differences in the quality of pleasures affect our chances of finding true happiness. Among the higher pleasures are the satisfactions that come from honor, sympathy, and self-respect."

I love the way he contrasts lasting joy with fleeting fun.

As I read this section of the book, I was reminded of some counsel that was shared this past weekend in the General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Randall K. Bennett shared a story about his grand-daughter who is learning about what it means to make choices:

"Our grandchildren are learning that when they make a choice, they also choose its consequences. Recently one of our three-year-old granddaughters refused to eat her dinner. Her mother explained, “It’s almost bedtime. If you choose to eat dinner, you are choosing ice cream for dessert. If you choose not to eat dinner, you are choosing to go to bed now, without ice cream.” Our granddaughter considered her two choices and then stated emphatically, “I want this choice—to play and eat only ice cream and not go to bed.” 

He follows up that humorous story with some profound insight:

"Brothers and sisters, do we wish we could play, eat only ice cream, never go to bed, and somehow avoid consequences like malnutrition and exhaustion?

In reality we have only two eternal choices, each with eternal consequences: choose to follow the Savior of the world and thus choose eternal life with our Heavenly Father or choose to follow the world and thus choose to separate ourselves from Heavenly Father eternally.

We cannot successfully choose both the safety of righteousness and the dangers of worldliness"
- Choose Eternal Life

The same idea is conveyed by an ancient prophet named Lehi at the beginning of the Book of Mormon:

"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." - 2 Nephi 2:27

Lehi then encourages his sons to make wise choices and warns them of the consequences of poor choices:

"And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;

 

And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom." - 2 Nephi 2:28-29

I thought about these words from Elder Bennett and Lehi in part because of some other thoughts that James Q. Wilson shared about the effects of choice: 

"Drug abuse, street crime, and political corruption are the expression of unfettered choices."

I am grateful for the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about agency (our God given right to choose) and about the consequences of our choices, now and in the future. I am grateful for parents who taught me that my actions do not only effect me, that they also impact those around me. I am grateful to know the benefits of putting aside personal, immediate pleasure in favor of long-term happiness and benefit to myself and those around me.

I know that Wilson was right when he said, "The kind of culture that can maintain reasonable human commitments takes centuries to create but only a few generations to destroy. And once destroyed, those who suddenly realize what they have lost will also realize that political action cannot, except at a very great price, restore it." I hope that too many individuals will not give way to 'unfettered choices' in their lives. I hope that people will choose societal stability and long-term personal happiness over the third choice - "to play and eat only ice cream and not go to bed".