Where do you find happiness first?

August 23, 2012 | 6 comments

Sent in by a reader…it will catch you by surprise…

An excerpt from
The Road to Happiness
by Mac Anderson and BJ Gallagher
When I travel on business, I like to talk to the taxi drivers who take me from the airport to my hotel, or to a convention center, or to a restaurant. Taxi drivers are often immigrants with interesting personal histories and unusual cultural backgrounds. I ask them how long they’ve been in America, how they chose which city to live in, and what they like best about where they live. Of course, I also ask them for advice on good local restaurants and any special attractions they’d recommend to a visitor. I’ve had some great experiences on my travels, thanks to the advice of taxi drivers!

On one trip about ten years ago, I was making conversation with the taxi driver, asking him my usual questions about how he came to live where he lived. Then I asked him a hypothetical question: “If you could live anywhere in the world—and if money was no object—where would you live?”

Without hesitating even for a second, he replied, “I live in my heart. So it really doesn’t matter where my body lives. If I am happy inside, then I live in paradise, no matter where my residence is.”

I felt humbled and a little foolish for my question. Of course he was right—happiness is an inside job. He had reminded me of something I already knew, but had forgotten. If you can’t find happiness inside yourself, you’ll never find it in the outside world, no matter where you move. Wherever you go, there you are. You take yourself with you.

I am grateful for the wisdom of that taxi driver. And I’m grateful for all the wisdom others have shared with me about how to be happy.

 

 

 

 

6 thoughts on “Where do you find happiness first?”

  1. What a wonderful reminder! How often I wish to live somewhere where there is no noise (!!!) – I shall take this advice to heart and be more aware that I live in my heart and that God’s peace and God’s angels are everywhere (and in my heart)!
    Thank you so much for sharing!

  2. Beatrice, I live where there is complete silence and though I love it in most ways I miss the noise of life sometimes and it can make you feel isolated, so isn’t that interesting how we wish for we don’t have?At least in noise you can wear earplugs I suppose.

  3. Thank you Shelley!
    Yes of course, I can wear earplugs :-).(And I sometimes do..) And you are absolutely right, we often wish for something we think we miss. That’s why it’s so good to remember that we live in our heart!

  4. Bits of god’s wisdom are so often found when and where you least expect them. This drivers “take on life” is particularly meaningful and helpful to me today, Evan. Thank you for sharing this powerful thought.

  5. I love it. It’s easy to remember, too.

    Is the man in the photo, the taxi driver referred to?

    He looks very content.

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