{"id":1128,"date":"2014-07-09T16:23:22","date_gmt":"2014-07-09T20:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/truthsyoucanuse\/?p=1128"},"modified":"2016-12-02T20:00:24","modified_gmt":"2016-12-03T01:00:24","slug":"the-secret-to-happiness-let-life-surprise-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/truthsyoucanuse\/2014\/07\/the-secret-to-happiness-let-life-surprise-you.html","title":{"rendered":"The Secret to Happiness? Let Life Surprise You"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u00a0<\/span>remember sitting one day with my \u00a0three-year-old daughter. She had a book in her and was turning the pages and telling the story. This was her regular habit. She could not yet read the words, but she could tell the story based on the pictures.<\/p>\n

\"little-girl-reading-300x220\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

I had one ear listening to her voice and the other, I am sorry to say, thinking about the coming week\u2019s sermon. Suddenly I stopped thinking about the sermon. I turned my head toward her. Something was different.<\/p>\n

I looked down at the book. I realized she was not telling the story in her own words.\u00a0She was reading the words on the page.<\/i><\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t believe it. Time stood still for a second. Then I looked at her, laughed, smiled and started to sing.<\/span>\u00a0I didn\u2019t sing any particular song. It was just words of joy and happiness, and we both started dancing around the room. That was a transformative moment.\u00a0It was a time on my journey when the waters parted and I glimpsed God working in the world<\/i>.<\/p>\n

How Surprises Touch Your Soul<\/b><\/p>\n

What made it special? Not the reading. That would happen one day. It was the surprise. It was the sheer delight in seeing expectations shattered.<\/p>\n

We all have these experiences. Perhaps it is the twinge inside when you fall in love. Perhaps it is swelling up of pride when your child does the right thing when they don\u2019t know you are watching. Those moments make all the difference. Life is richer when we let it surprise us.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Jewish theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel made this point when he said he remained young by constantly being surprised? How do we heed Heschel\u2019s advice?<\/p>\n

1. Keep an open mind:<\/strong>\u00a0I known that sounds like a cliche, but think about it. How often do we look at the future as a series of milestones to achieve? Next year we\u2019ll get the promotion. In a few hours we\u2019ll look at a different house. We\u2019ll start that book when our first kid goes off to college. We often look at life as a puzzle to solve rather than a mystery to embrace. But when it\u2019s a mystery, surprises abound.<\/p>\n

2. Moderate expectations:<\/strong>\u00a0Many psychologists point out that expectations are the enemy of happiness. They set us up for failure because we look for what doesn\u2019t fit. Picture a man or woman looking for the perfect spouse. They have a checklist: right income, right family, right hair color. Where is the mystery? Where is the space for surprise? It\u2019s hard to be surprised when you know exactly what\u2019s going to happen.<\/p>\n

3. Shift your perspective:<\/strong>\u00a0Albert Einstein said many wise things. Most of them have nothing to do with science. Amongst my favorites is his observation that\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThere are only two ways to look at the world. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Albert Einstein said many wise things. Most of them have nothing to do with science. Amongst my favorites is his observation that\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThere are only two ways to look at the world. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.\u201d To that we can only say \u201cAmen.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Are You Christian? Get Your Free Jewish Holidays Cheat Sheet.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u00a0remember sitting one day with my \u00a0three-year-old daughter. She had a book in her and was turning the pages and telling the story. This was her regular habit. She could not yet read the words, but she could tell the story based on the pictures. I had one ear listening to her voice and the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":507,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Secret to Happiness? 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