Happiness

What is happiness?
I was teaching seventh grade this morning and I asked them this question. After discussing with them what happiness is, I had them all write down on a piece of paper what makes THEM happy. They each filled up a whole paper with things that make them happy. I had one girl come up and read to the class what she wrote. She read, "Vacation, chocolate, rollerblading, no school, good grades, ice cream, friends, jewelry, parties, ......."

All eighteen seventh graders agreed and shouted out similar things. I asked them to take all their papers and put it in to a foil pan. I then told them to put on their coats and follow me outside. I took out a box of matches and lit all their papers on fire and burnt them until they were ashes. We had a mini bonfire. Back inside the classroom I told to them the following.
"You just wrote on your papers all the things that made you happy, and I just burnt all of it, its gone,its ashes, you don't have it anymore. All those things that make you happy are GONE! Does that make you sad?"
"Yes" they answered.
"Well then that is not true happiness, Yes those things MAKE us happy. But it's not TRUE happiness."
So then what is true Happiness?

We discussed this question, I then went to the board and in HUGE letters wrote.............. IT'S ALL HP!
"Girls, knowing that EVERYTHING comes from Hashem is true happiness. That means that even if something doesn't go your way, you know that it's from Hashem so there is no reason to be sad. Let say all your friends got to go on vacation and you didn't. That would make you sad. If vacation is what makes you happy and you didn't have it, you would be sad. But if you know that Hashem wants the best for you and wants you to be home for whatever reason, you would not be sad. Lets take another example. Let say hotdogs makes you happy, and your at a Community barbecue in the park. But your mother doesn't let you have any hotdogs. Does that make you sad, YES! But the reason she doesn't let you have it is because later she's planning a surprise ice cream birthday party for your Uncle Harry. She doesn't tell you, because its a surprise, but she wants you to have ice cream later and enjoy the party.
We know it's HP and it's from Hashem. So there is no need to be sad and unhappy. ( Yes it's easier said then done), Look out for the HP in your life, get a notebook and write all your HP stories. Tell everyone that you meet your HP stories. TALK ABOUT IT. Send me your HP stories. JUST DO IT! Even if you don't see a happy ending, It's still HP!" BE HAPPY- ITS HP!