It has traditionally been believed that happiness is derived from the attainment of values, most commonly identified as tangible goods. And there is certainly a measure of truth to that belief. But the new toaster, the shining new car, the exquisitely furnished home, do not bring enduring happiness on their own. Their impact is muted and/or short-lived unless they are coupled with the primary value: recognizing the glory of life.
Benevolence, compassion, kindness, concern, are not mere social graces, manners and niceties. They are not mere acts of religious tenets. They rest on, and reflect, the deepest conviction, persuasion, and affirmation, They cannot be bought in a store, they cannot be gifted to another. Each of us must must come to own them on our own, through our own quiet reflection on the grandiosity, the majesty, the nobility, of life itself.
It is goodness not goods that measure a man and his ultimate bounty.
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