Perhaps because of stories like The Little House Books and other things our family read together, I've been very much of the mind that one does what one ought to do for the sake of setting up one's future. Not merely setting it up in view of happiness, but because knowing you've done right by Truth brings a kind of joy.
I assumed for many years, growing up in my family's little homeschooling world, that People In General make choices in life based on future considerations- they take into account their feelings, but always Truth rules over their feelings.
Strangely enough, it has seemed that it is not so anymore, even for Christians who say they believe in truth. I'm not even entirely convinced that Christians typically know what truth actually is, though, so it is perhaps no wonder. I have often been advised to do what I want, and I don't know how to turn some conversations towards should I or shouldn't I? Besides that there are so many things I want that it is not as simple as Just Doing It.
But that's the really, really odd thing to me. I can't figure out if it's just me, or if there is a fear in people of me (or anyone else) not following my desires. I sound like a spoilsport of some sort if I say that I may not really want that, that I would want to discern whether or not it was best. The idea that something could be best sounds like conforming to some standard that won't make you happy.
But I think most emphatically that it would make you happy if it really were what was good and right. Always doing what is right will bring the most joy, even if it is not at the moment. The greatest joys I've had in life were things that at first felt boring and difficult. Sometimes it's only in retrospect that I realise that it was actually wonderful.
We seem obsessed with giving ourselves pleasure in the moment nowadays, even disguising it as what is Best. Because of the psychologising of our culture, we are quick to fear that the root of someone's unhappiness in life is because they aren't pursuing their Dream. But it's very worrying if you can't be happy in life unless you accomplish your Dream- it's a really sad message, because most people on earth will never achieve dreams unless they make them much more realistic. If you learn to tame your desires and love things that are ordinary, you can be happy with much. I do not know why we don't exhort each other to that instead of 'do what makes you happy', which for me is most depressing because I know it won't make me happy... and I can't even say that without someone contradicting me as if I were blaspheming against myself.
Is it actually necessary to tell our children that they can Do Anything, that they should do what they love? Is it possibly harmful? Apart from forcing your child to say he loves something he does not, what is the harm in teaching a child to realistically plan their future? I have thought that true joy belongs in a person who has discernment and wisdom, who knows when his feelings are in accord with reality and when they are not. That person can train his feelings to follow Truth, and true fulfillment is only found in Truth.
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