Hello Beautiful Soul,

A comprehensive study involving 2,000 people over a span of 80+ years by Harvard has found that the key to happiness is simple. It points to 3 main factors for happiness.

1.Togetherness. Loneliness is unhealthy. Professor Waldinger, author of, The Good Life, a book about the Harvard study, tells us, “According to the Harvard study, the men who reported being closer to their family, friends, or community tended to be happier and healthier than their less social counterparts. They also tended to live longer.” The opposite was true for those who were more lonely.

2. Strong relationships are healthy for the mind, body, and emotions. A strong relationship is not a perfect relationship; there is no such thing. Even the closest of family or friends have upsets and arguments. The two important factors in the value of strong relationships are the knowledge that there is support there and if memory is failing, those with whom we have established relationships help to prevent memory from declining more quickly. 

3. Quality over quantity: Strong relationships that offer some element of support are much more tied to happiness than simply having many people around. Professor Waldinger states, “Rather, it’s the strength of these relationships with others that can predict the health of both our bodies and our brains as we go through life.” Married couples who had high levels of conflict were less healthy than those who were not married at all. A divorce from a high conflict marriage can be healthier than remaining in the situation, according to the professor.

Having strong relationships obviously took or may take some time and effort and they aren’t a cure-all for every type of unhappiness, but they can help us to build a happier life.

A strong relationship is built between two individuals who are self-reliant and interdependent. A close but co-dependent relationship is not the type of strong relationship that the study has shown to bring us to a level of greater happiness. For more on what co-dependency is and how it interferes with happiness, see this video (the talk starts after the song) with Rev. Gordon Keyler.

Remember not matter what your life is like right now, or the circumstances that surround you, you are Simply Divine, an eternal radiant soul.