G.K. Chesterton had a true zest for life. He saw life as invaluable, an incomparable gift. He wrote a poem entitled, "By the Babe Unborn". In it, he pictures a baby, laying in the womb of his mother imagining a world of bright blue skies, grassy hills, beautiful trees, still water ... which to him is just a beautiful dream.
But if he could actually be there, to attain that dream, and see such a world and live in it, his gratitude would be unending.
They should not hear a word from me
Of selfishness or scorn,
If only I could find the door
If only I were born.
Babies remind us to be in awe of the world. We should never stop being in awe of babies.
Chesterton said each time a baby is born, it is as if a whole new world has been created, because the world is being seen for the first time by a new soul as if it were the first day of creation. Inside that little head, there is a new system of stars, new grass, new cities, a new sea.
All the true things about happiness have been said and are always being said, and yet we have managed to ignore them.
We put so much emphasis on the pursuit of happiness rather than on the happiness itself. All the things we need to make us reason to be happy live within our grasp. If we pause in our frantic pursuit of happiness, if we stop and try to picture happiness, it is something different from the fuss and frustration that fills our pursuit.
Happiness is something simple and basic. And everyone knows this, if they would only stop and consider it.
From Common Sense 101: Lessons from G.K. Chesterton
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