Want to be Happy? Make Others Happy!

We are social creatures, and because of that our mental and emotional makeup is connected to that of others whether we like to admit it or not. In other words, “no man is an island.” It’s important for us to realize and accept that. It's more important for us to act on it. If we make others unhappy, we’re going to be unhappy. But if we make others happy, we’ll be happy. It’s all really simple. So simple that the European tale of “Simple Jack” can illustrate this to us.

A woman had a son named Jack who was a simpleton. But as he had come of age, she decided she had to send him out to work. So one morning Jack went off and hired himself out. For his labors that day the man gave him some coins. Being a simpleton, Jack carried the coins home in his hand. By the time he arrived home, all but one of the coins had fallen out of his hand and been lost. His mother scolded him and told him next time to bring them home in his pocket. The next morning Jack went out again to work. This time he was paid in a dozen eggs, which he promptly placed in his pocket. By the time he arrived home, the eggs were all broken. Again, his mother scolded him.

So it continued with each day Jack earning something, but each day bringing it home the wrong way. Then one day Jack was bringing home a mule by carrying it on his back. On his way home, he happened to be walking by a wealthy merchant’s home (or a king’s castle depending on the story) when the merchant’s daughter looked out the window. Now, the daughter had been in a real depression and was sick unto death. The merchant had offered her hand and half his wealth to anyone who could make her smile. Well, when she saw Jack walking by with the mule’s legs up in the air, she began to laugh. The merchant was thrilled and immediately had Jack brought in. The daughter fell in love with him and when she recovered, the marriage was held. Never again did Jack’s mother scold him, and they all lived happily ever after.

Obviously, this is a simple story about a simple person, but the message is abundantly clear. Jack and his mother, while they toiled and worked on their own, struggled. But when Jack went "out of his way" and made someone else happy, his fortunes immediately changed.

The same goes for all of us. We tend to get so caught up in our own lives that we don't make the time or effort to make someone else feel better. But when we do, everyone involved will be lifted up.

Have a question, problem, conundrum, or just a nagging issue? Want to know what fairy tales say about some other topic? Send it to me and I'll post it here!