Someone said this about happiness:
To be happy for an hour -- take a nap.
To be happy for a day -- go shopping.
To be happy for a week -- take a vacation.
To be happy for a month -- get married.
To be happy for a year -- inherit a fortune.
To be happy for a lifetime -- help others.
You and I may argue with a couple of points on that list, but
the author is exactly right about how
to be happy for the rest of your life.
Lasting contentment can always be found in helping
others. It is truly a secret that many people have never
discovered!
Marion Preminger stumbled upon it and wrote about where lasting
happiness is to be found in her autobiography ALL I WANT
IS EVERYTHING. Born in Hungary in
1913, Marion was raised in a castle,
surrounded by wealth, servants and the notoriety of an
aristocratic upbringing.
At a Viennese ball, she met a handsome young man, the son of an
Italian doctor. They rushed into a marriage that lasted
only a year.
She returned to Vienna to embark on a career of acting. There
she fell in love with the German
director Otto Preminger. They married
and she followed him to America where he began a
promising career as a Hollywood movie director. But her
new Hollywood lifestyle could not
sustain her marriage and Preminger
eventually divorced her.
Marion returned to Europe to live the life of a Parisian
socialite until 1948. Then everything changed when she
read that Dr. Albert Schweitzer was
visiting Europe from his home in
Africa. She determined to meet with the notable missionary
doctor.
She first encountered Schweitzer doing one of the things he
loved to do best while visiting Europe
-- playing a church organ for his own
enjoyment. He invited her to dine with him. After the
meal, Marion knew she had finally found what she'd been
looking
for. She accompanied Schweitzer every day during the remainder
of his European visit. He invited
Marion to come back to Africa with him
and work as an untrained staff member in the Lamberene hospital.
She left her life of status and ease and moved to Africa.
Once there, the girl who was raised like a princess became a
servant. She changed bandages, bathed
bodies and fed lepers. She gave her life
away to the poor and, because of it, found the happiness
she'd craved for so long.
It was Albert Schweitzer who asserted, "One thing I know: the
only ones among you who will be really happy are those
who will have sought and found how to
serve."
However, wherever and whomever you choose to help is
unimportant. There are those in need
everywhere. But when you figure out how
to sincerely serve other people, you'll have also learned
how to be happy for a lifetime.
Steve Goodier's books & newsletter:
http://LifeSupportSystem.com.
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