Life is full of uncertainties, difficulties and challenges that individuals must face and overcome in order to succeed. There is no doubt that this can be disquieting at times, and that some individuals struggle just to maintain a balance in their life. Unfortunately, there are those who believe that true happiness is unattainable, especially in a region that is constantly torn by war, among many other things. Fortunately, this assumption is entirely incorrect.
Bringing The Way to Happiness Into Jerusalem
When trying to understand the concept of happiness, one must first understand that it is not an emotional state that just occurs at random or without intent. Nor is it a condition over which an individual can have no control. Happiness is achieved through one’s actions and the actions of others around them. One could say that the more they seek to improve their own and others’ lives, the happier they are. This does not mean that a happy individual never experiences other emotions, but rather that he is able to create the situations in which he feels happy. Great happiness can be derived from facing and overcoming difficult barriers and challenges, and oftentimes one simply needs the tools by which to do so. This is the point of the twenty-one precepts contained within The Way to Happiness–to empower individuals to change their own lives through basic actions that can ultimately bring about great happiness for self and others.
Consider for a moment the history and turmoil that is the Middle East. Then consider what may happen if one person simply began to spread happiness through their actions–actions that were duplicated by another person, and then another and so on until an entire society was working together to improve conditions. What would these actions be? The twenty-one precepts of The Way to Happiness include: Take Care of Yourself, Be Temperate, Don’t Be Promiscuous, Love and Help Children, Honor and Help Your Parents, Set a Good Example, Seek to Live With the Truth, Do Not Murder, Don’t Do Anything Illegal, Support a Government Designed and Run For All The People, Do Not Harm a Person of Good Will, Safeguard and Improve Your Environment, Do Not Steal, Be Worthy of Trust, Fulfill Your Obligations, Be Industrious, Be Competent, Respect the Religious Beliefs of Others, Try Not to Do Things to Others That You Would Not Like Them to Do to You, Try To Treat Others As You Would Want Them to Treat You, and Flourish and Prosper. When one carefully considers the ramifications of widespread application of even a few of these precepts, one can easily see how their introduction into a land that is constantly in turmoil can serve to bring peace and happiness to many. This is the goal of the new Way to Happiness Foundation in Jerusalem.
The new Way to Happiness Foundation in Jerusalem is located in front of the largest mosque in the Middle East outside of Saudi Arabia, where roughly four thousand five hundred worship daily, and roughly seven thousand five hundred worship on Fridays. This places the power of The Way to Happiness within close reach of many thousands of individuals who can benefit greatly from this common sense and easy to apply moral code. The Imam of the mosque has already expressed his affinity for The Way to Happiness and the values it seeks to instill in society, and has lent his support to the new foundation. Staff and volunteers of the Way to Happiness Foundation Jerusalem are happy to finally have a starting point from which they can help improve the lives and well-being of many individuals, and to perhaps finally bring peace to the Middle East.
