Q:
What should a person do in order to be always happy?
A:
In order to be always happy a person must first choose one thing and concentrate on it until it makes him happy. You have to work on that one thing. After a while you’ll be happy with that one thing. Then add another thing. And work on that. After a while work on something else. After a while you’ll have so many things that you’ll be a rich man. You’ll actually feel a happiness about so many things.
So start out as follows. Say, “I’m happy that I have something to eat.” Learn how to be happy that you have food. Work on that. It takes some effort. Practice that for a while without any weakening of your resolve.
Next, you went to the bathroom. Everything worked? Learn how to be happy with that. You hear that?! Learn how to be happy with that. You don’t think about it?! When you’ll be eighty years old you’ll start thinking about it. Trust me, you’ll think about it. And you’ll long for those days of happiness when everything worked so well. So start thinking about it now. Work on being happy that you can go to the bathroom.
Little by little, add. It takes work. It takes time. Like I said before, it doesn’t come by itself. Little by little, you’ll add. And after a while you’ll have forty, fifty things. And that’s nothing yet because there’s so much more than that. But you’ll be happy with forty things and you’ll be a rich man. You’ll be a rich man already. And if you’re a young man yet – even a young man of sixty – you’ll keep on this path, on this career, until you’re in your nineties and you’ll be a very wealthy person.
But you have to do it, though. Just hearing me say it, is not enough. You have to make up your mind that you’re going to pursue this career of happiness and that you’ll always be saying, “I thank You Hashem.” Always, “I thank You Hashem for giving me this breakfast.” “I thank you Hashem for being able to go to the bathroom.” And don’t rely on the brachos you make. You must say it with your mouth in your own language. Always. And, המחשבה נמשכת אחר הדיבור – your mind will be transformed because of your speech and you will become a happy man. You will become happy with the so many wonderful things that you have always taken for granted. And you will become a servant of Hashem and a great man. Not only will you become a happy person but you will become a great person.
TAPE # E-202 (July 1999)
