May 31

Just as a person who is unaccustomed to luxury but who finds himself in it by accident, in order to elevate himself in the eyes of others tries to make it seem that he is not surprised by it, that he is used to it, and even disdains it, so does an unwise person, thinking that a disdain for the joys of life is a sign of an enlightened worldview, tries to make it seem that he finds life tiresome, that he can imagine something much better.

1

To be happy, to have eternal life, to be in God, to be saved—all this is one and the same thing: a solution to a problem, the aim of existence. And bliss can grow just as much as sorrow. An eternal growth in an immutable peace, an ever deeper insight, an ever stronger and more spiritual attainment of heavenly joy—that is happiness. Happiness has no limits because God has neither bottom nor bounds, and because happiness is the conquest of God through love.

— Amiel

2

The main reason for our being dissatisfied with life is a baseless assumption that we have a right to inviolable happiness, that we were born for such happiness.

We have been given the incomparable good of life, with all its joys, and we say: there are not enough joys. We have been given the greatest joys of life—interactions with the material and spiritual world—and we say: why is life so short, why does it have to end? We want it to keep going.

If only we understood and valued all of the great good of life, which gives us the opportunity to interact through love with the material and spiritual world, we would never even imagine that it is possible to wish for anything better.

3

The best form of worship is the joy of gratitude.

— Lessing

4

The joy of the spirit indicates its strength.

— Emerson

5

To be happy, you must believe in the possibility of happiness.

6

Give a person who is violating the law of his life, the law of God, the greatest goods, the ones that he desires, and he will be unhappy. Take away from a person for whom the fulfillment of the law is his good everything that other people consider good, and he will still be happy.

7

A person has upset his stomach and is complaining about his dinner. And it is the same with people who are dissatisfied with life.

We have no right to be dissatisfied with this life. If it seems to us that we are dissatisfied with it, it means only that we have a reason to be dissatisfied with ourselves.