Happiness is a Retired Statesman

At a recent banking industry convention I attended, the keynote speaker was former US President George W. Bush. During the question and answer period that followed his prepared remarks, someone asked him about his retirement. I was interested to learn that without any artistic training of any kind, “W” has taken up oil painting.  He admitted that he has been as surprised as anyone that this activity has become such a passion.  Painting changed his life

President Bush explained that he was inspired to paint after reading a little book – an essay, really – called Painting as a Pastime, written by Winston Churchill in 1932.  In that book Sir Churchill describes his own passion for painting, discovered at the “advanced age of forty”.  I decided to read the book myself, not to see if I would be inspired to paint, but to understand how it so profoundly changed another’s life. 

I enjoyed the description of Sir Churchill’s introduction to painting and the joy he found with that pastime, but the book isn't really about painting.  It’s a book about happiness.

We humans are obsessed with happiness.  We talk about it constantly. We want it.  We seek it. We will do anything to get it.   And when we don’t have it we look for the reasons why it eludes us and we attempt to rid ourselves of the people or things that we believe stand in the way.  Even the Declaration of Independence guarantees our right to pursue happiness.  Happiness is a big deal!

I am amazed at how many people believe that others can cause their happiness or unhappiness.  That is such an absurd belief, when you think about it.  No other human can make you happy or unhappy.  If you doubt what I am saying, think about it this way:  Imagine a man is holding a gun to your head and will shoot you if you don’t do what he says.  If he says “jump”, I am sure that you will jump.   But if that same man says “be happy”, you will certainly act as happy as you possibly can, but his command will not necessarily make you feel happy.  Even if death is the only alternative, no one can make us happy.

Others can present us with their joys, their fears, their accomplishments, and their failures but then it’s up to us whether to absorb those offerings and allow our feelings to change in response.  We are 100% responsible for our own emotional state, including our own happiness.

 My wise husband has never had any patience with anyone who declares “I’m bored!” because he knows those who are bored expect others to be responsible for their entertainment.  In a world crammed full of opportunities, anyone who is bored has chosen to be bored.  It is the same with happiness.    Happiness is a choice.

That’s the real message in Painting as a Pastime.  If you constantly chase things or people in a quest for happiness, you will never find it.  But if you pursue work, activities and hobbies for your own satisfaction, happiness is inevitable.  Now isn't that a happy thought!