Choices, Decisions, and the Pursuit of Happiness — and Love and Peace to Those in Orlando

I ran out of room for my thoughts in my short Morning Pages this morning. I ended with a reference to the founding of America. For all that some say about the philosophic and ethnic make-up of the founders of America, the words they wrote expressed truths that ran deep for them. I do not know the full intent that Thomas Jefferson had when he wrote that “all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness…” but he surely captured an amazing impulse from the Spirit of all this Universe when those words were penned.
I wanted to get to these words because they express a mindset — whether it was temporary or an aberration— that emanates from a heart perspective: respect for others, including those who differ from us; basic rights to a life of freedom to be happy, a foundational desire of humanity; freedom to be Self. The life and functioning of a new nation were based on a choice of heart over ego.
If a whole nation’s foundation is laid on the principle of heart over ego, then we surely can live every day by our hearts. I have mentioned my idealism in previous posts, and recently I was flat out told that some everyday matters like working are not about heart over ego but rather just about making money. Money to live at a certain standard, even though the trade-off is a miserable soul.
Choices are the alternatives that we have; decisions are grabbing hold of one choice over the other. Heart can tell us which choice allows us to express core Self to contribute to this world, to experience unity with others, and to benefit this world. That’s why we are here: to have our full joy and happiness in knowing and living Self, and when we do that, we bless others. Our heart does not want us to end up in a soul-sucking, spirit-numbing relationship, job, or anything else in life, and those daily choices, both little and big, add up to one lifestyle or another.
Ego would have us convinced that some things are just practical, that being idealistic — if that’s what heart choices are — is not practical, logical, or convenient. And that leaves out faith, that solid, no doubting believing in core Self. Faith is a fringe benefit of living the heart, i.e., genuine faith that allows us to make those decisions that are contrary to ego, that allows us to engage in the pursuit of Happiness, that sometimes means we might not have the same situations in life, but that is an acceptable alternative because peace, joy, and love trump many other ego strokers.
Not a lot more to say today except this. For any who may be reading this and believe in and feel passionate about an issue — political, religious, or social — and those feelings are characterized by hate, hatefulness, judgment, or any host of negative motivators, then you are acting in ego. You are to be pitied because you are not pursuing Happiness; you are pursuing destruction of others and your own souls. The hallmark of pursuing true Happiness is love. Sometimes love takes stands, sometimes love disagrees, and sometimes love has to walk away; however, love does not initiate killing or destruction.
I do not by any stretch of the imagination think that those who seem to have it all together and are peaceful and spiritual and all of those good things are superior to those who may even be acting in hate. What I would say, though, is that they are a whole hell of a lot happier, fulfilled, and significant.
Hope this all makes sense in the light of the tragedy in Orlando this morning. Blessings on all.