Sometimes he has tried to forget the search. Sometimes he has tried to get lost in other things so that he only has time and thoughts for the matter at hand. Sometimes you may even have felt that you are already free from the need to continue searching for that something without a name. But he has always been involved in the search again. He has always had to go back to her.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

In the loneliest moments of your life you have looked at other men and women and wondered if they are also looking, if they are looking for something they can not describe but know what they want and need. Perhaps when looking at them he thought: These people are no longer in the Great Search. They have found the way.

It is not true! You are not alone. All people are traveling with you, because they are all in the same search. All people seek the answer to confusion, to moral illness, to the spiritual vacuum that oppresses the world. We are all clamoring for guidance, for consolation, for happiness, for peace.

They tell us that we live in the "age of anxiety." Seldom in history have people faced so much fear and uncertainty. All the family supports seem to have fallen down below us. We speak of peace but we are confronted by war and terrorism at every moment. We invent elaborate projects for security but we have not found it. We take anything, and the moment disappears.

For generations, we have been running like scared children, first down a dark alley and then on another. And every time this has happened we have said: This way is the right one; this will take us to where we want to go. But we have always been wrong.

THE ILLUSION OF HAPPINESS

We all recognize that the world has changed radically in the last hundred years. We are aware of its accelerated pace, the spirit of revolution that is sweeping away established barriers and traditions, the speed with which the language, fashions, customs, housing and our way of living and thinking are altered.

Our materialistic world continues in haste in its eternal search for happiness. However, the more knowledge we acquire, the less wisdom we seem to have. The more economic security we have, the more boring and insecure we feel.

  The more we enjoy everyday pleasures, the less satisfied and happy we are with life.

We are like a restless sea that throws its waves towards a bit of peace here and a little pleasure there but without finding a place to stay that is permanent and satisfying. But inside us a small voice keeps saying: It does not have to be this way; They made us for better things.

We have the feeling that somewhere there must be a source that contains a happiness that makes life worthwhile. Sometimes we feel that we have obtained it, only to realize later that it is evasive and leaves us disappointed, reckless, unhappy and still searching.

There are two kinds of happiness. One comes when the circumstances are pleasant and we are relatively free of problems. The drawback with this kind of happiness is that it is fleeting and superficial. When circumstances change, and this is inevitable, this kind of happiness evaporates like the mist of the morning in the midday heat. (See: What the Bible says about Happiness)

But there is another kind of happiness, which we have all been longing for and seeking. This second kind of happiness is inner and lasting peace and joy that survive any circumstance. It is a happiness that lasts, no matter what we face. It's funny, but it may increase in adversity. (See: Adversity Expose the Best of You)

The happiness that our heart desires is not affected by success or failure, it dwells deep within us and gives us inner peace and contentment, no matter what the problem is on the surface. It is the kind of happiness that does not need any external stimulus.

This is the kind of happiness we need. This is the happiness for which our souls cry and search without rest. Is there hope to get this kind of happiness? Is there any way out of our dilemma? Can we find personal peace?