The Pursuit Of Happiness

247 years ago today, the Declaration of Independence outlined "certain unalienable rights" endowed upon us by our Creator, and that "among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." I believe that the idea that the pursuit of happiness as an unalienable right was inspired. There is a reason that it was so essential to our Founding Fathers and also to our Heavenly Father that our right to pursue happiness be preserved and protected and promoted. It is not the right nor the responsibility of the government to secure our right to happiness itself. Grief, pain, sorrow, dissatisfaction, anger, unrest - all of these are essential to building up our character and making us who we are - and none of them have anything to do with happiness. Happiness is an important part of life and we all love to feel happy, and many of us wish we could feel happy all the time, and most of us have probably gone to great - and often counterproductive - lengths to maintain our grip on happiness or to keep unhappiness at bay. But we often get satiated with happiness far more quickly than we would like, or else unhappiness barges in and overstays its welcome. Research has shown that we can feel satisfied more fully and for longer stretches of time in the pursuit of happiness than we do once we have obtained it. We get longer stretches of fulfillment while we are in the process of hiking than when we have actually reached the summit. The Pursuit of happiness is what gives life its meaning. It's what allows us to endure moments of sadness and grief and displeasure because we are anxiously engaged in digging ourselves out of the hole we have fallen into. The pursuit of happiness lies behind every great act of exploration and invention and discovery, as brave men and women have endured great hardship to pursue the creation of a better world. I am so grateful for everyone who has given their time and their lives to secure and protect our unalienable right to the pursuit of happiness.