A Reflecting Woman

On a business trip to Japan, our guide took us to a picturesque village where three streams of spring water trickle from the mountainside.

A long line of people, reminiscent of of a busy theme park, wound around the temple’s complex. At least a hundred people, waiting patiently for an opportunity to drink.

As we waited, our guide explained with much sincerity that I must choose only one stream to drink from and that my life would be blessed with the property of the water I chose.

Long life, wealth or wisdom  - did I know, she asked, which I would choose?

“Of course,” I assured her, “I will choose wisdom.”

She was very happy with my choice. “With wisdom,” she said, “You can attain health for a long life and make wise choices to gain wealth. With wisdom, you can be happy.”

In the years since, I have learned that what she said is true, if I were given  opportunity again, and the choices were there, I would choose the wisdom to learn optimism. Happiness, a sense of well being, or contentment by whatever name it is called, it seems is a great predictor of success in all areas of life.

Happy people live longer, make more money, have more friends, more beneficial social relationships, greater health and better sex lives.

There is such a marked difference in the success levels in all aspects of the lives of happy people that a number of researchers throughout the past decades have set out to determine two things:

• Are people happy because they are successful or successful because they are happy?
• What are the elements of happiness?

Researchers were surprised by the answer to the first question. Conclusively, success follows happiness. In fact, happiness creates success. It offers us a longer life, and is in fact more of a factor in longevity and health than any other.

People, it seems, are either psychologically wired to be happy, or they are not. The good news is that we can learn to be happy. Not through anything we experience or acquire, but through a conscious decision.

The elements that create a happy life include:

• A decisive optimism, the choice to see the glass as half-full.
• The ability to form lasting friendships.
• A hobby, or hobbies.
• Activities that keep the mind active.
• Spiritual belief.

Note that neither money nor career success play a part in that elusive sense of well-being. Of course you can be happy and have both prosperity and success, but they are not included in the elements that make up happiness, they are more likely to come as a result of happiness.

Happiness comes first. And I’m learning to be happier all the time.

Which makes me think, maybe I did gain a little wisdom from that cool drink of water.