Happiness is Power
Power: "the ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something." - Random House Dictionary
Some time ago, I heard an interesting statistic. It was that gun owners tend to be happier than those who do not own guns. The speculated reason was that gun owners feel like they have more control over their lives. This fascinated me, and has inspired me to write on the subject of power as it relates to happiness. They are both important subjects, and it is likely that we are all seeking for more of each. But how are they related? After much brainstorming, I have come to the conclusion that without power, there is no happiness.
Undoubtedly, at the very mention of the word power, some will immediately entertain thoughts of corruption, war, or dictators like Hitler or Stalin. They both definitely had a degree, or at least a certain type, of power, but it needn't be argued that their power ultimately led to a great deal of suffering and unhappiness. The power to oppress is not the type of power that I am thinking of, for it is a power that is driven by contempt for fellow men. So power can be thought of as a tool, which, as any other tool, can be used for good or ill.
Though it is a tool for evil as well as good, I say that it is nonetheless essential for happiness. In a broad sense, the content of nations is determined by the power they have over their own lives. Through the ages they have fought mostly for liberty, or to be free from government intervention - that is, free from external control of their existence. They wanted to worship as they wished, provide for themselves and their families, and control their own destinies. Whenever the ability to fulfill these desires was taken or usurped by unjust powers, they casted off those powers that oppressed, and reared up new protections to their liberty.
Agency plays a huge part in all this. Without power, there is no agency, because power is the ability to act. Every extant bit of matter has power to act in it's own sphere: electrons have their regular motion, as do the planets and stars. Therefore, power is a characteristic of existence. No power, no existence. Without existence, there is no happiness, nor sadness. There is no triumph of overcoming, no victory, no intelligence, no purpose. Power simply is. We all have some power within us - some potential for happiness - but only in the sense that we are intelligent beings, free to act or react.
We live to make decisions, to walk the journey on our own two feet. At times we misstep, but the mistakes are essential in pushing us to improve, learn, and ultimately be perfected. Agency is the ability to exercise power in whatever way we will, but when external forces seek to constrain the realm in which we can exercise it, we become very displeased. Agency cannot be taken away, but we can give it up through sin. Think of the terrible state of the wicked; they are slaves to sin, their power lost to a terrible master, and feel like they cannot break the chains that bind them. It is this feeling of powerlessness that, in part, drives them to a state of misery. They cannot break the chains. It takes the Savior. Through his grace, or enabling power, the sin is overcome. Happiness is regained, and the great motivator and empowerer - love - is kindled in the heart.
Here we come to the truth that without submission to He that has all power, we have none ourselves. And there is no happiness without power. President Monson says, "If we do not try, then we do not do; and if we do not do, then why are we here?" I submit that power is the force that moves us to do and to fulfill life's purpose. As long as we are moving toward accomplishing our purpose, we have happiness.
Power. If we don't have it, then we don't have much. We must retain the ability to act and to direct the course of our own lives. Being driven and tossed by the waves of life is
not much of an existence at all. In this short span that we call mortality, it is up to us to exercise our individual power for the benefit and happiness of ourselves, our families, and the people of the world. Even those without a worldly possession have turned the world upside down because they were willing to act, and to be a force for good. Look at the Revolutionary soldiers (...gun owners) in the picture to the right. They had nearly nothing, were nearly naked, nearly starved to death, yet they, by the grace of God, broke the chains that would bind them. May we do the same, figuratively or literally, whatever the trial.
Some time ago, I heard an interesting statistic. It was that gun owners tend to be happier than those who do not own guns. The speculated reason was that gun owners feel like they have more control over their lives. This fascinated me, and has inspired me to write on the subject of power as it relates to happiness. They are both important subjects, and it is likely that we are all seeking for more of each. But how are they related? After much brainstorming, I have come to the conclusion that without power, there is no happiness.
Undoubtedly, at the very mention of the word power, some will immediately entertain thoughts of corruption, war, or dictators like Hitler or Stalin. They both definitely had a degree, or at least a certain type, of power, but it needn't be argued that their power ultimately led to a great deal of suffering and unhappiness. The power to oppress is not the type of power that I am thinking of, for it is a power that is driven by contempt for fellow men. So power can be thought of as a tool, which, as any other tool, can be used for good or ill.
Though it is a tool for evil as well as good, I say that it is nonetheless essential for happiness. In a broad sense, the content of nations is determined by the power they have over their own lives. Through the ages they have fought mostly for liberty, or to be free from government intervention - that is, free from external control of their existence. They wanted to worship as they wished, provide for themselves and their families, and control their own destinies. Whenever the ability to fulfill these desires was taken or usurped by unjust powers, they casted off those powers that oppressed, and reared up new protections to their liberty.
Agency plays a huge part in all this. Without power, there is no agency, because power is the ability to act. Every extant bit of matter has power to act in it's own sphere: electrons have their regular motion, as do the planets and stars. Therefore, power is a characteristic of existence. No power, no existence. Without existence, there is no happiness, nor sadness. There is no triumph of overcoming, no victory, no intelligence, no purpose. Power simply is. We all have some power within us - some potential for happiness - but only in the sense that we are intelligent beings, free to act or react.
We live to make decisions, to walk the journey on our own two feet. At times we misstep, but the mistakes are essential in pushing us to improve, learn, and ultimately be perfected. Agency is the ability to exercise power in whatever way we will, but when external forces seek to constrain the realm in which we can exercise it, we become very displeased. Agency cannot be taken away, but we can give it up through sin. Think of the terrible state of the wicked; they are slaves to sin, their power lost to a terrible master, and feel like they cannot break the chains that bind them. It is this feeling of powerlessness that, in part, drives them to a state of misery. They cannot break the chains. It takes the Savior. Through his grace, or enabling power, the sin is overcome. Happiness is regained, and the great motivator and empowerer - love - is kindled in the heart.
Here we come to the truth that without submission to He that has all power, we have none ourselves. And there is no happiness without power. President Monson says, "If we do not try, then we do not do; and if we do not do, then why are we here?" I submit that power is the force that moves us to do and to fulfill life's purpose. As long as we are moving toward accomplishing our purpose, we have happiness.
Power. If we don't have it, then we don't have much. We must retain the ability to act and to direct the course of our own lives. Being driven and tossed by the waves of life is
not much of an existence at all. In this short span that we call mortality, it is up to us to exercise our individual power for the benefit and happiness of ourselves, our families, and the people of the world. Even those without a worldly possession have turned the world upside down because they were willing to act, and to be a force for good. Look at the Revolutionary soldiers (...gun owners) in the picture to the right. They had nearly nothing, were nearly naked, nearly starved to death, yet they, by the grace of God, broke the chains that would bind them. May we do the same, figuratively or literally, whatever the trial.
Hey - you're on fire! By the way, did you write the last entry or was that James E. Talmage?!
ReplyDeleteI'm no Talmage, and the fact that I'm responding makes me seem egotistical... not to mention that it's late... I don't just sit and stare at my blog all day... Some of the ideas in the last paragraph are from Talmage, but I can't remember where he wrote about it. I think it was in The Articles of Faith.
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