Many people seek happiness, but it’s not about social achievement or material satisfaction; it’s about realizing your true purpose in life and redefining your values and life direction in order to find lasting happiness.
Everyone wants to be happy, and enjoying happiness and joy in life is the ideal that everyone strives for, the purpose of life. The reason why we study hard to get a better school, a better job, or a better education is to achieve happiness. We also want to have a good education and a good job so that we can fulfill our own desires, meet a good spouse, and have a happy family. We work hard at work, pulling all-nighters to become an owl, so that we can get promoted, gain social status, and have a more stable income. The purpose of all these things we do in life, such as enjoying our favorite hobbies every weekend, is to be happy.
However, we live without realizing that if we get what we want now, we will definitely not be satisfied in the present, and we will have to struggle for another happiness, and that what I want does not guarantee my eternal happiness. However, in recent years, as more and more people have realized that material satisfaction does not guarantee happiness in their lives, books on healing, body and mind healing, rather than self-improvement books, have become bestsellers in bookstores, and programs called healing camps have become very popular in the broadcasting industry. While this healing craze can provide people with the opportunity to reflect on their lives and gain comfort and solace, many people believe that it is temporary and ultimately does not bring happiness to their lives.
According to data from Statistics Korea in 2011, an average of 43.6 people commit suicide every day in South Korea alone. In addition, the recent violent crimes that downplayed people’s lives that dominated the internet news show that people in our society have lost their will and joy for life and are sick. We all want to be happy, but why can’t we live a happy life? We can look for the reasons through social factors, such as the difficult economy and difficulty in finding a job, but I think the most fundamental problem is that people do not know the purpose of their life and feel the reward of living it.
We all have our own paths in life and our own standards of happiness. However, many people don’t feel the reward and happiness of their original life, even if they eventually reach the end and achieve what they want, but too many years have passed to go back to that path, so many people say that life is a waste. Anyone would think it would be great if someone could tell me, “The purpose of life is not that, but this,” the absolute purpose of the most ideal life and the path to ultimate happiness.
I’ve invested 19 years of my life to get into a prestigious university. I was always nervous about my grades, not knowing when I would fail, and the phrase ‘rest today, run tomorrow’ became a whip to keep me going. Looking back on the time I spent running alone, with countless question books in front of me and the awareness of competitors studying with me when I closed my eyes, it was not easy. Through all of this, I managed to get into a prestigious university. I thought that if I got into a good university, I would be happy.
I had a vague idea that everything would be over once I entered college, but it was hard to accept the fact that college life has harder studies, more competition, and a harder road in society. I went to bars and drank until I couldn’t contain myself, tried to meet girls, went to karaoke and sang at the top of my lungs until I was hoarse, and had fun. It was fun. But when I walked back to my dorm alone at 4 a.m. after parting ways with my friends, I felt lonely and empty. I wasn’t happy.
There was only one thing I wanted in my heart, and that was to have a friend of high quality with whom I could really talk about life. One day, an acquaintance introduced me to a Christian Gospel Mission church where I learned about the Bible. I knew that there were many distortions in the media and many bad reviews on the Internet, but I felt that there were no contradictions in the Bible and the clean and pure lives of the church members, so I joined the church.
I went to church, but I was vaguely religious without really knowing what I was supposed to live for or what my life’s purpose was. At some point, the song “I am happy” touched my heart. In my church, we always sing this song with exciting and joyful dancing and a band playing. However, the composer of this song, Rev. Myung-Seok Jung, the General President, wrote it in the car while he was being transported to prison after being falsely accused and sentenced.
‘People look at me and say that I’m unhappy because I’m a criminal, but no, I’m a happy person. This person, that person, lives to be happy by achieving what they want, but that’s not true happiness, happiness is a life that lives in love with God, the Lord, and that’s an eternal happy life. Lord, am I happy? The Lord said, “You know and live happiness,” I’m a happy person.’
As the song says, “Wherever you go and whatever you do, live your life loving God, the Lord, more than any woman in the world, more than money, more than honor. This is the purpose for which God created man, and it is the only way for man to be happy forever.” He taught me and showed me an example of that life. After receiving this teaching and seeing his life, I thought, “If there is an absolute purpose and direction for human beings, isn’t it not the temporary happiness and joy that we enjoy in the world, but eternal happiness through living a life of supreme love for God and the Lord, the originator of life?” I resolved to live such a life.
Whether the path I am about to take is right or wrong, I will not know until I reach the end. However, the reason I chose this path is because I was convinced that worldly happiness does not bring life’s reward and eternal happiness. This is the reward of being in a prestigious university.
Even now, people all over the world are probably struggling to find their own happiness. What can people do to be truly happy? Should we elect a good president? Should taxes be lowered? Should North Korea collapse? The answer lies not in the outside world, but in the direction of your own life, your own heart, and your own life. The kind of life we live and the kind of happiness we seek is ultimately up to us to decide for ourselves.
In addition, you will need to read a variety of books and resources that will expose you to different perspectives on happiness, and you will need to redefine your values and beliefs. People feel, think, and live differently depending on the circumstances and situations they find themselves in, so it’s important to explore different perspectives and experiences to find your own happiness. Along the way, we may wander and get frustrated, but in the end, it’s important to make our lives rich and meaningful. This is because true happiness does not come from material things, but from inner peace and contentment.
In conclusion, happiness is something you have to find for yourself, and along the way, you will learn and grow a lot. Establishing your own values, setting a direction for your life, and staying on track is the only way to find true happiness. The important thing in our journey to happiness is to learn to love and understand ourselves more deeply through our experiences and realizations along the way.
