Conditions

"Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don't set any condition."
Arthur Rubinstein

People think that they feel happy because...he's coming home, or she will give me a raise, or he will fix the leaky faucet, or she will clean up her room or ... Some condition must be met before they will feel happy. People insist on a specific thing happening, and think that if it doesn't happen they won't be happy. That's a lot of pressure to put on that one specific outcome.

The truth is that when you insist of a particular something happening before you can feel happy, it actually pushes your happiness away. If my being happy is contingent on the boss giving me a raise, then, because I can't guarantee that will actually happen, I am left being afraid that I won't get the raise and end up miserable. Nobody likes a needy person, including God. When you cheerfully ask for something that will make you happy, that's one thing; but when you demand it like your life depended on it, that's a whole different, offensive to God and others, and anxiety producing thing.

Happiness can only be felt when you don't set any conditions. When you don't insist on something, you are free to relax and be happy whether you get it or not. And when you're happy and relaxed, you're more likely to get the thing you want anyway.

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