BLACKSMITH OF ONE'S HAPPINESS

I remember one online chat several months ago from which I got this phrase – blacksmith of one’s own happiness. Nice play of words, isn’t it? I’ve also been told that it’s a saying in Sweden; it goes this way---“Sin egen lyckas smed”. Now don’t ask me how it’s pronounced…lolz!JSo then…what does a blacksmith do? A blacksmith makes out, shapes, or molds a tool out of a hot iron. Like the role Orlando Bloom did in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Btw, that was one entertaining movie I certainly enjoyed much. Not so much because of Bloom (though I liked him in the Lord of the Rings movie) but more so with Johnny Depp’s swashbuckling yet funny role-- a very versatile actor--I must say.

So aren’t we much like a blacksmith? We carve our own lives and create what we want to create out of it. And what we become depends on how hard we try. A smith striking or pounding hard at his iron would produce a good sturdy instrument. Otherwise, weak effort would get him an inferior slipshod piece of tool. In like manner, working hard at pursuing our goals or dreams will surely take us there. On the other hand, going through the paces lackadaisically would only get us as far as the door or not even close.

There’s no blacksmith working on the new two-storey house being built in my neighborhood. (Remember that I mentioned this in my previous post?) But every man that works on the building is working on the same principle – good effort, good result. I stopped for a few minutes watching them at their job – the short stocky carpenter pounding nails into the wood, the lanky young man mixing cement, the white-haired fat guy piling up the bricks, and all the others who put out their good effort to create the owner’s ‘dream house’. I’m sure in a few months we’ll all see the finished product—the resulting beauty of their combined hard work. And this certainly will delight its owners making them very happy.

Let’s translate this principle unto our small daily lives. I, for one, thrive on happiness for meaning in my everyday life. But I’ve realized that I can’t always have it 24/7. Neither can I depend on others to provide happiness for me. Nor is there always a big slam dunk reason to be happy. What I understand is that I can create ‘happiness’ within reason--that it can and should come from within me and not necessarily nor always from without. To get to that point I must work out some good ‘hammering’ so to speak-- meaning that I should sort out or mould anew my responses or attitude to adapt to that of a more positive standpoint-- something which admittedly I, you, or others often fail at. That’s a lot of ‘hammering’ to do I know because I’m just like everybody else…imperfect and flawed. Furthermore these ‘imperfections’, I understand, can get in the way of my quest for happiness. Thus following that line of thought, if usually I would negatively look at a glass of water half-empty – with a positive outlook I’d be looking at it anew as half-full! That entirely is a very happy thought! That is what I’m hoping to achieve for myself – thus the need for some good hard hammering lolz.J …and that sounds so good to me!

By the way, here's a blessing for every person who comes by to read this -- may God bless you with tons of happiness to fill your heart!


posted on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 4:55 PM