Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.
Interpretation
Happiness stems from finding balance and harmony in life rather than just seeking intense experiences.
In this quote, Thomas Merton emphasizes that true happiness is rooted in the equilibrium of one's life rather than the pursuit of intense emotions or experiences. He suggests that achieving a sense of order, rhythm, and harmony within oneself and one's surroundings is crucial for sustained contentment and joy.
In practice
Use this quote during a wellness seminar to discuss the importance of balance in mental health.
The devil is no fool. He can get people feeling about heaven the way they ought to feel about hell. He can make them fear the means of grace the way they do not fear sin. And he does so, not by light but by obscurity, not by realities but by shadows; not by clarity and substance, but by dreams and the creatures of psychosis. And men are so poor in intellect that a few cold chills down their spine will be enough to keep them from ever finding out the truth about anything.
Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny....To work out our identity in God.
Conscience is the light by which we interpret the will of God in our own lives.
You are made in the image of what you desire.
But if you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I think I am living for.
I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.
[Be grateful for the simple things in life. Don't take them for granted. After all...] What would a blind man give to see the pleasant rivers and meadows and flowers and fountains; and this and many other like blessings we enjoy daily.
The joy of losing consists in this: Where there are no expectations, there is no disappointment.
Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word.
The rights essential to happiness. . . . We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings and Lord of all the earth.
More company increases happiness, but does not lighten or diminish misery.
Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.
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