Do your beliefs make you happy?

[YoursTrue]

Thank you! My living conditions are fine, but I appreciate your concern, I really do. One thing I have learned is that it's OK to grieve, and if Jesus could grieve, and His mother could grieve, then we can too. It's been a hard journey for me and it's not over yet but things are falling into place thankfully. It was absolutely shocking to me when my husband died, absolutely shocking but one thing that has helped me is my belief that God doesn't care about numbers and time. It doesn't matter to Him one way or the other, and a person's worth isn't measured by his bank account, his credit score, or his time on the job, or on this earth for that matter. That was a hard lesson to learn but I feel like I have learned it.

I am happy to hear that. You are reminding me of the prayer Jesus gave to his disciples -- known as the "Our Father" prayer. He taught them to pray for God's kingdom to come. Now if God's kingdom were on the earth at that time, he would not have prayed that. So I am looking forward to the future.

 

[Trailblazer]

See, it would bother me more about my character than my house because I consider my character to be WHO I AM.

It would also bother me more if it was my character rather than my house because I could sell my house but I cannot sell my character.
Also, I believe my character is the only thing that will go with me to the next world after I die. My house will not go with me.

The problem is that I have a love/hate relationship with my house and I see it's true potential. I just don't have the time or motivation to bring about its true potential right now. I would also feel like I was leaving my husband behind of I left this house. Many widows feel this way.

 

[epilepsy-matters]

Good evening to everyone. This is a very interesting point. My faith does make me happy but it also makes me frustrated and sad when confronted with a situation that I know I would have dealt with differently.

I experienced a horrible situation earlier this year when all I was trying to do was to make my life better and left me thinking “why do people have to act so horribly not thinking or understanding the impact of their actions?”

I have always believed that….I can’t do anything about yesterday, I can’t do anything about tomorrow so I have to concentrate on today and let my faith lead me through the day.

Thank you for reading.

 

[Kathryn]

It would also bother me more if it was my character rather than my house because I could sell my house but I cannot sell my character.
Also, I believe my character is the only thing that will go with me to the next world after I die. My house will not go with me.

The problem is that I have a love/hate relationship with my house and I see it's true potential. I just don't have the time or motivation to bring about its true potential right now. I would also feel like I was leaving my husband behind of I left this house. Many widows feel this way.

I agree that many widows feel that way but I have moved since losing my husband and it's been a huge relief. I would only recommend it though after awhile - it varies by person.

 

[Kathryn]

I am happy to hear that. You are reminding me of the prayer Jesus gave to his disciples -- known as the "Our Father" prayer. He taught them to pray for God's kingdom to come. Now if God's kingdom were on the earth at that time, he would not have prayed that. So I am looking forward to the future.

I absolutely love the Our Father. Like you, I look forward to the future. Meanwhile, it's nice to feel some measure of contentment.

 

[YoursTrue]

I absolutely love the Our Father. Like you, I look forward to the future. Meanwhile, it's nice to feel some measure of contentment.

Indeed, I more than agree with you, but it's taken me some time to get there.

 

[Kathryn]

Indeed, I more than agree with you, but it's taken me some time to get there.

I totally get what you're saying. I was 58 when I lost my precious husband and it was the most shocking experience of my life. I wasn't young but I also wasn't old. Now I feel so much older and more tired (I am 62 now). I am the same age as my husband was when he dropped dead suddenly! I have lost both my parents and my inlaws, and my younger brothers, which was very very difficult. So now it's me and I may have twenty more years on this earth so I better get busy! But it has taken me awhile to regroup.

 

[YoursTrue]

I totally get what you're saying. I was 58 when I lost my precious husband and it was the most shocking experience of my life. I wasn't young but I also wasn't old. Now I feel so much older and more tired (I am 62 now). I am the same age as my husband was when he dropped dead suddenly! I have lost both my parents and my inlaws, and my younger brothers, which was very very difficult. So now it's me and I may have twenty more years on this earth so I better get busy! But it has taken me awhile to regroup.

It's important to get enough sleep and eat nutritious food. I think sleep is very important.

 

[Truthseeker]

I am happy and thankful to God, because I think what I have now, is because of Him.

But, I don't think I am as great as Job. If things would be really bad, I would probably be ungrateful and depressed. However, I also think depression is also much about how a person choose to see everything. One of the keys to happy life is to learn to see a good side in everything.

I remember the end of that movie. It was funny.

 

[Truthseeker]

Could you explain, please?

At the time, it said for example "in 15 minutes", instead of 15 minutes ago. As I watched then for example it would say "in 13 minutes" on the same post.

 

[Spice]

Good evening to everyone. This is a very interesting point. My faith does make me happy but it also makes me frustrated and sad when confronted with a situation that I know I would have dealt with differently.

I experienced a horrible situation earlier this year when all I was trying to do was to make my life better and left me thinking “why do people have to act so horribly not thinking or understanding the impact of their actions?”

I have always believed that….I can’t do anything about yesterday, I can’t do anything about tomorrow so I have to concentrate on today and let my faith lead me through the day.

Thank you for reading.

Yesterday is history
Tomorrow is a mystery
Today is a gift
That's why it's called "the present"
Eleanor Roosevelt

 

[Spice]

At the time, it said for example "in 15 minutes", instead of 15 minutes ago. As I watched then for example it would say "in 13 minutes" on the same post.

Ahhhh, a screen thing. I haven't noticed it doing that, thank goodness. I stay confused enough. LOL

 

[Truthseeker]

Thanks Duane for not being one of those Baha'is. I think we both know who the Baha'is are who believe that all we need is God and the Baha'i Faith to be happy.

Apparently, that is what Abdu'l-Baha was thinking when he said "be happy." As you know I detest that statement because it is so insensitive and heartless.

I sincerely doubt that Abdu'l-Baha was thinking that when He said "be happy". Think about it.

 

[Truthseeker]

If that is true, why wouldn't that mean that those who are less fortunate are less fortunate because of God? Does God play favorites?

There are many factors that can lead to depression but depression is not a choice. No mental health professional would ever say that to a client. They would help them work through what is causing the depression and prescribe medicine if necessary.

I do not choose to see life the way I see it, I just see it that way, and sometimes I get depressed over it.
I also see the good things but often that is not enough to counterbalance the bad things in my life that I cannot do anything about, at least not right now.

Did you look at the clip he presented? I remember that movie, and I thought that end of the movie was funny. It was called Monty Python's life of Brian. Brian was a parody of Jesus Christ.

Monty Python's Life of Brian (also known as Life of Brian) is a 1979 British comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin). It was directed by Jones. The film tells the story of Brian Cohen (played by Chapman), a young Jewish-Roman man who is born on the same day as—and next door to—Jesus, and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah.

 

[Truthseeker]

OK true story time, before I forget what I want to say....

If I am unhappy I know one reason, it is because I hate myself. People think I can just stop hating myself but it doesn't work that way. I have been in some kind of mental health counseling off and on since the early 1980s, but I never realized how much I hate myself until my husband passed in 2022. I probably did not realize how I felt about myself because I was so busy and I always had something I was doing in order to feel better about myself, and I took care of my husband for most the years we were married. Now all I have are the cats. I am diligent about their health but I cannot even seem to be able to do what I need to for their grooming in spite of how had I try. I feel guilty about that even though I know it is not my fault. Many things I cannot do are because of my anxiety. I worry if I did them I could cause a bigger problem than I presently have so I hold back.

Another insight I now have is the reason I don't believe God is loving is because I don't love myself. I do not want to love myself because I consider that narcissistic, I just want to like myself because it is not healthy to hate oneself. I do believe that God loves me in spite of how I feel about myself, but that does not help very much because my hate for myself keeps other people at a distance, since I imagine they would not like me if they really knew me. Mostly this is about my house and yard, of which I am ashamed, even though I know it is not my fault! I know that my house and yard are not who I am as a person, but other people might think that and I cannot take feeling any worse about myself then I do now.

The thing is that I don't think I have a bad character or bad actions, I think my character and actions are good, but there is a sense that I am bad, and I am sure that comes from childhood, since my mother was very critical. So whenever I cannot do things I think I should be able to do I beat up on myself. I also am very sensitive to certain criticisms like about my house and yard. If people criticize my character that doesn't bother me because I don't think my character is bad. There are things I would like to improve upon, two in particular, but i am aware of those and they never cause hurt to other people since I am aware of them.

Thanks for listening, whoever is listening. I am going to use what I wrote for my counseling appointment next week.

What insight you have developed about yourself!

 

[Truthseeker]

I had already been planning to order this product called Pooph because the smell was bothering me, but it was not the cat urine that bothered me. Some of the smell was not from the cat urine as he thought, it was from rodents that got into my closet in the computer room and left presents, but I sprayed in there and I don't smell the smell anymore. I also sprayed litter boxes and carpets and I don't smell anything now.

As it turned out that computer tech did me a favor because I don't plan to keep the laptop I purchased, I plan to buy a better one. I found another company I plan to call to install it but I am not in a big hurry now since this laptop is still working, knock on wood. The company I plan to call has a lot of other benefits for a small monthly fee so now I will be able to get tech support whenever I need it.

51. O SON OF MAN!
My calamity is My providence, outwardly it is fire and vengeance, but inwardly it is light and mercy
(Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

 

[Truthseeker]

I would also feel like I was leaving my husband behind of I left this house. Many widows feel this way.

I didn't know that about you or widows in general.

 

[Trailblazer]

I sincerely doubt that Abdu'l-Baha was thinking that when He said "be happy". Think about it.

That was my point. He was not thinking about how that would make unhappy people feel.

 

[Trailblazer]

What insight you have developed about yourself!

Things I need to know but don't necessarily want to know, but it is better to know than not to know.

 

[Trailblazer]

51. O SON OF MAN!
My calamity is My providence, outwardly it is fire and vengeance, but inwardly it is light and mercy
(Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

I'm not sure that applies since it was not really a calamity although it felt that way at the time since I felt hurt and insulted about my house.

However, I do believe it was divine providence that the computer setup did not work out on that day.

BTW, I just ordered a new laptop at Costco.com and it has been shipped. This laptop is a step up from the other one I got at Costco and never used, which I plan to return to the store. This new one has a touch screen and a backlit keyboard and a year subscription to Microsoft office.