Rhapsody on a Theme from Princess Bride or The Happiness Project, Scene 1

“My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

No! That’s not what I meant.

How about this one?

“Inconceivable!”

“I do not think it means what you think it means.”

No! That’s not it either.

Here we go.

“He’s not dead. He’s only mostly dead.”


Know any dead people? I know you don’t. But it’s slightly possible that some of the people you know are only mostly dead. Okay. I know. I’m crazy. What on earth am I saying?

I’m reading the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Right off the bat, she makes the point that she’s not depressed. She is simply asking some basic questions. I can tell Gretchen Rubin is a “thinker”, like me. She’s also a list-maker, like me. Gretchen Rubin isn’t searching for happiness the way some people in this day and age search for “purpose” or “inner truth” or whatever it is they do..... Gretchen Rubin takes a scientifically sound, statistical approach and asks, What makes people happy? What might make me a happier person? What choices do I have to increase my happiness? Not schmultzy, mushy, sappy, cheesy, warm and fuzzy happy - no, content. Read that both ways. CONtent and conTENT. Simple acts like getting enough sleep and putting things away when you are done with them. Creating order. Creating energy. That’s where she begins her project. I've re-worded Rubin's ideas and summed it up this way for myself: The CONtent of my life choices will increase conTENTment. duh!

But what I like best so far is not so much that I need cleaner closets or a better night-time routine, but that the Happiness Project is a way to choose a little bit MORE life.

We can fill our lives with so much “stuff” that we don’t choose; we don’t live much. We are mostly dead, reacting to our environment as opposed to embracing the choices we have. We all need a Miracle Max to chocolate coat a little pill we can swallow that will improve our circumstances. But as he said in the movie, “You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.”

My girlfriend, Kristy recently shared with me what gave her the courage to become a painter, at the ripe old age of 42. She’s got 2 kids at home with plenty to do; homeschooling, running those boys all over creation, fundraisers, church stuff.... but she realized God had given her a passion to create art. What she lacked was the discipline. Her Happiness Project (and she hasn’t read the book) was the CHOICE to combine her passion with DISCIPLINE. A few years ago, she committed to draw or paint every day. It was that simple. She made a choice. This summer, she has several shows lined up and people, including me, who want to buy her work (but I can’t afford it, she’s already that good!). Wow. To see her work, click on Kristy.


Apparently, Miracle Max was correct, “There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive.”

So the slightly alive part of me is challenging the slightly alive part of you to read the Happiness Project. If you can’t, that’s cool. But ask yourself, what do I need to do with the CONtent of my life to increase conTENTment? The Apostle Paul said he had to learn to be content. It takes time. It takes discipline. But do you want to be happier? Will you join me?