Albert Einstein once said, “The most important question you can ever ask is whether or not the universe is a friendly place.”
What he meant by that is, do you wake up in the morning expecting to have to fight? Do you believe that the world and those around you are trying to steal from you, cheat you, hurt you? That walls are necessary and you’re a sucker if you don’t strike first?
Or do you wake up expecting that, at its core, the world and the people who inhabit it are well-intentioned, kind and that beauty, abundance and benevolence are the default conditions?
My mother passed away a couple of years ago at the age of 91. Throughout her life, Mom truly believed that the universe is a friendly place.
No, she KNEW, in the deepest recesses of her soul, that it is. And there’s a difference between belief and knowing. And because she knew that, her life was filled with joy and she always responded to the world in an equally friendly way.
To go back to Einstein, his work led to today’s understanding of quantum physics where scientists have discovered an amazing phenomenon: As we conduct experiments with the universe’s most minute particles, we discover that the results of those experiments actually depend on our expectations. Odd as it may seem, if a researcher expects one result, she gets it. If she expects something different, she gets that. Our thoughts and our intentions truly do create our reality.
Now although my Mom was endlessly curious, she did not study quantum physics and she wasn’t a student of New Age philosophy. But throughout her life, she expected good things to happen. And they did. She expected to be happy. And she was. She expected to have love in her life. And she did.
None of us can control the circumstance that surround and befall us. And those who try frequently end up angry and bitter. Or violent.
But in every moment we have the ability to choose how we respond to the circumstances that we encounter. My Mom always chose happiness. She always chose joy. And in the process of expecting joy, like those scientists, she influenced this grand experiment and experienced a life – a very long life – that was filled with happiness, peace, love and joy.
Getting back to Einstein once more, the further our scientists climb up the mountain of knowledge, the more they discover that the philosophers and gurus have been sitting there, waiting for them. And they tell us that the secret to happiness is not health, it’s not wealth, it’s not power, it’s not knowledge.
No, the secret to happiness is – happiness. Simply choosing, regardless of circumstances, to be happy.
My Mom was the Master of Happiness. In her prime she would revel about the sunshine, a blossom, a beautiful song. She would delight in a conversation. With anyone. About anything. She would be gleeful about a long trip. Or a short trip. About a meal, or a snack. About the day, or the night.
Even as her faculties began to cruelly abandon her, she chose wonder and joy. At the end she couldn’t remember what she’d had for breakfast, but every time you would share some news with her she’d always say, ‘I’m so pleased!’ And she meant it.
With her life, Mom answered Einstein’s question. I doubt she’d even think it was a question worth asking. With her life she showed us that the universe IS a beautiful, a wondrous, and indeed a very friendly place.
Thank you for so many years of enormously satisfying work together. I've loved every moment and appreciated everyone I've met.
