A Merry Heart- Sunday, February 06, 1983
It is good to be merry, for a merry heart makes a cheerful countenance. It was Emerson who wrote about the wonderful expressiveness of the human body. “The face and eyes reveal what the spirit is doing,” he said, “… [and announce] to the curious how it is with them.”1
Cheerfulness, enthusiasm and optimism are important traits that keep us young. They are the best of moral and mental tonics. They bring elasticity of spirit. They are real, and no one can take them away without our consent. But they often lie dormant within, just waiting to be used.
It’s been said that people succeed in life as much by their attitude as by their talents.
Some people are always optimistic and bear their burdens cheerfully, not wasting energy worrying about things they cannot change. Others see life through the eyes of a cynic believing that the heart only grows harder with age. We can make the best of life, or the worst of it, and it usually depends on our attitude. Men of the greatest genius have been, for the most part, cheerful and contented—not eager for reputation, money or power.
As Emerson said, our countenance reveals how we feel inside, for the soul radiates to the body how it is within. Indeed, people seem to be more cheerful when they believe life has meaning. And much of our cheerfulness can come from an understanding of who we are, and of our relationship with God. A belief in God puts life in perspective. It provides a framework, a reference point for us.
Several weeks ago, a retired executive met a friend who was impressed with his cheerfulness. “How are you doing?” the friend asked. “I’m great,” was the reply. “I’m at peace with myself, at peace with life, at peace with the Lord.” Here’s a man who has his priorities set, whose life is in order, whose cheerful countenance communicates the harmony and happiness within.
Each of us should establish proper principles to live by so that we might be at peace with our lives and with our Creator—the kind of principles that will provide a sanctuary for us and a support to lean on.
1 Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Behavior,” The Conduct of Life, Doubleday. p. 111.
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February 06, 1983
Broadcast Number 2,790