The High you just can't chase

Have you ever tried to catch, or get a good photograph of, a butterfly?  Well, it doesn't take much to catch one.  All you have to do is sit still and wait.  There's a pretty reasonable chance that it will land close to you or in a place where it's easy to see.  However, if you were to try to pursue it, you would have a more difficult time catching it or getting that perfect shot.  But people are not naturally inclined to sit and wait because we want to have control of our destinies.  We do not want to take a chance that sitting and waiting could result in the butterfly landing in the wrong spot for us because we lack patience and thus want to take matters into our own hands.

We've all heard about people who look for love in all the wrong places.  Everyone has their own story but there's usually some emotional pain they're erasing or some feeling of validation they are seeking.  They seek sexual healing, except that it's not healing.  Promiscuity ensues because they keep chasing that happiness that never seems to get any closer.  They're never satisfied.

Most people are probably also aware of how prevalent drug use is in our society.  Let's start with marijuana, a.k.a. "pot," "weed," "the reefer."  We like to think that it's not addictive or harmful and that it will take the edge off our misery if we're feeling troubled.  Well, it does take the edge off our misery but the more we use it the less effective it becomes.  I had a few friends who used to "blaze" a few times per week but then it became a daily ritual.  Eventually, they were blazing multiple times per day not even to get high anymore but just to feel normal so as to avoid feeling too depressed.  If this is how it is with a "less harmful" drug like marijuana, it would very likely be even worse with a more serious drug.  There is a reason why getting high is often referred to as "chasing."  One never quite gets where they're trying to go.  They're chasing a high that they had once before but just can't seem to reach again.

You can't achieve happiness by "trying too hard."  It is not something that you can chase.  It is something that will come to you if you allow it to.  Just like a butterfly, sometimes it will come to you, sometimes it won't.  You just have to be patient.  Now that does not mean sit around and do nothing.  Lying down in bed all day or sitting on your couch watching television all day or aimlessly surfing the internet all day will accomplish nothing and could even cause you to feel more depressed.  But if you proceed through life as you normally would, assuming you stay reasonably active, and keep an open mind, open heart, and open eyes, you can find happiness.  Or rather, it can find you.

James 3:16 - 4:3
Mark 9: 30-37