is it 'happiness' then?

This blog started as an e-mail to a few different folks. I was (and still am) trying to figure out how to present or incorporate the replies.

My objective, other than hopefully drawing a bit of a map that some might find useful, is to create a parable. A parable is a brief, succinct story that illustrates a moral, so this is the part of course that I have to add. You will ask what the moral of the story is, and where I'm heading with this.

So far, I'm thinking to craft the parable in such a way that it illustrates what
the primary objective in life for each of us should be. Of course we each determine our own answer, but is there one that can be 'recommended' and for which a map can be provided? The top candidate for me is actually "happiness". Of course "happiness" can be different things for different people, and might perhaps change for an individual at different stages of life. My view is that we shouldn't
accept someone else's answer, for example "To glorify God and enjoy him forever". That's too easy and if it really hasn't been appropriated, won't help in a crunch.

I may not agree with what you are doing or how you are doing it, but with a few exceptions, I should let you do it without undue criticism if you are truly happy in that quest.

So then with this as the objective, the starting point would be for each of us to first clearly define what happiness is at the particular place in the journey where we are, and then (the point of the parable) understand that and how our daily actions in the boxes and under the balloon engines, will help us achieve the goal. I liked B's choice of words below with the balloons being "engines".

Do you want to be flying high and seeing the big picture? Do you want to fly low, follow the terrain and zero in on the details? What should you jettison in order to gain altitude, if that is where you need to be to be happy. Are you happy spending all your time in the 'work' box, focusing on the 'work' balloon, for example? Should one strive for balance among the boxes? Why?

I also agree with B's ranking of the boxes - family first. This sure isn't the case with some (apparently) successful business people, for example, but if they seem to be quite happy in spite of it and don't want to change, those around them should perhaps just accept that and get used to it.

For some, I know that God looms quite large in the picture. Does this serve a similar function as Qi Gong does for B?

So in my parable, do I suggest that a belief in God or Qi Gong might be presented as
the air through which one is flying? Is Qi Gong a tool that you have in your kit bag which you take out from time to time to help you service the engine? Maybe God is an interior designer who helps you arrange the stuff in your boxes. I'm sure some people actually have built a church box & balloon - dragging them down or lifting them up depending on the amount of time they spend there. I suspect the reality is that it could be any of these things for someone. It is simply how your
map looks.

Of course all this is predicated on 'happiness' being the objective. If this is not the case, what is a helpful alternative?