This Sunday, February 21st, I am focusing on “green” or environmental
happiness, as part of my proclamation series on becoming happier persons. Now, as I’ve previously noted, a great deal
of empirical research has been done by psychologists and other social
scientists over the past 12-15 years.
The results of this research has converged around seven common factors
that seem to be essential for lasting and authentic happiness in human
life. These seven factors are:
2. Positive attitudes;
optimism; positivity
3. Strong inter-personal
relationships with family and friends
4. Deep sense of Gratitude
5. Investing in something
larger than oneself
6. Spiritual Health; strong
sense of meaning
For the
most part, I have focused this series of proclamations around these seven,
empirically-verified components of happiness.
Please note that “green happiness” are not part of the consensus list of
core components.
So, why did “green happiness” not
make the list of essential components?
Could it be that enjoying nature and working to care for the environment
is not important for happiness?
I don’t think so; I believe that having a healthy relationship with
nature all around us is an essential ingredient for a life of flourishing and
happiness. Instead, I think this
omission is primarily because psychologists and other researchers have not yet
really studied the role that the environment plays in our happiness. A significant exception might be Catherine
O’Brien, an Associate Professor of Education at Cape Breton University in Canada. Dr. O’Brien has developed a very interesting
concept of “sustainable happiness.” (See
her website at: http://sustainablehappiness.ca/
) As
psychologists, sociologists, and others continue their research into what give
us happiness, I believe that more and more will begin adding a “green”
component.
So, here’s my confession: Even though it is not yet recognized as one
of the essential components of a happy and flourishing life, I decided to
include a sermon on “enjoying nature and working to care for it” as part of
this sermon series on becoming happier persons.
I decided to add it for a couple of reasons:
First, I believe God intended for there to be a “green” component to
human happiness. The scriptural text for
this weekend is Genesis 2:4b-10, 15.
The Bible contains two
distinct creation stories in the first two chapters of Genesis. Even though Biblical scholars tell us that
this creation story in Genesis 2 is chronologically older, it is less familiar
that the other creation story in which God creates the world in six days (see
Genesis 1). Instead, in this story, God
“formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life,” (verse 7). The name of
this first person was Adam; his wife,
Eve, was created a few verses later.
When God created Adam, God appears to have been so
excited about this first human person that God immediately loved Adam.
God wanted to give Adam a
gift, to show God’s love and excitement.
Think of it as God’s “baby shower” for Adam. So God next created a
gift for Adam. Here’s how Genesis describes that gift in
verse 8, “And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he
put the man whom he had formed.” In the
Genesis story, the Garden of Eden represents all of God’s good Creation. In other words, God gave us all of Creation,
but not to dominate and abuse as we like.
No. Instead, God created all of Creation in order for us to enjoy and to
flourish. God intended for the enjoyment
of Creation to be one of the essential components of happiness.
A second reason for
this particular sermon is my own practical experience. Ever since I was a little boy, playing in my
Grandfather’s woodland, I have found that time with nature is an essential
component for my happiness. For me,
nature is a core ingredient for happiness.
This engagement with nature does not always have to be some rugged,
“mountain-man” immersion into the wild—even though I enjoy those experiences,
also. By engagement with nature, I also
mean spending time with pets, or caring for a house plant, or simply sitting by
the window and drinking in the beauty of a winter’s snow storm. All of these possibilities are avenues for
including the enjoyment of Creation as an essential component of happiness.
So, this weekend, I am going to invite all of us to reflect on how “enjoying
nature and working to care for it” contributes something important and unique
to our genuine happiness and flourishing.
If you live in the Lincoln, Nebraska area and do not have a
regular church home, I invite you to
join us this Sunday. Christ
United Methodist Church is located at 4530 A Street. Our classic worship services are at 8:30 and
11:00 on Sunday mornings.
Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.
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