Little Lamb walked through the mist of the dream. His brothers were waiting for him. They had questions for him to answer.
Little Lamb looked at all his friends and smiled, “First let me ask you what you think happiness is.”
Gray Squirrel looked at Little Lamb and said, “Happiness is having piles and piles of seeds and nuts. When I have all the seeds and nuts in the world, then I will be happy.”
“Are you happy now?” asked Little Lamb.
“No,” said Gray Squirrel. “But I will be when I get all the seeds and nuts in the world.”
Fat Robin with tears in her eyes said, “I just lost happiness. This past summer all my babies were with me as I helped them grow big and strong. Now they are gone to have their own families and with them went my happiness.”
“Are you happy now?” asked Little Lamb.
“No,” said Fat Robin. “When my children were with me I had happiness, but now they are gone and my happiness is gone also.”
Pack Rat spoke up next. In his arms he held all the odd things he had found that day: a stone, an acorn and a small tin can. “I am happy when I have with me all the things that I find. It took me a long time to find these things. I won’t let anybody take them from me. As long as I have them I am happy.”
“Are you happy now?” asked Little Lamb.
“Now I am happy because I have all my things. But I am afraid that I will lose them.” And so Pack Rat sat down clutching his things close to him, frightened that he would lose his happiness. Little Lamb looked at his friends and said, “Gray Squirrel is not happy now because he has not found happiness yet. Fat Robin is not happy now because she has just lost happiness. Pack Rat thinks he is happy because he has all his things, but he is frightened that he will lose them. So if he is
frightened, can he really be happy?”
And Pack Rat said, I guess I am not really happy because I am afraid I will lose those things that I thought were happiness. Tell us, Little Lamb, how we can be happy now.”
Little Lamb smiled at his brothers and said, “Happiness is not something, or someone, or someplace. Happiness just is, inside you. When you feel God’s love in your heart you feel happy. When you want to share God’s love with all your brothers you feel happy. And when you feel happy inside your happiness shines on everyone you meet. When you feel happy inside no matter who you are with, where you are or what you have, you will be happy because you carry it around with you.”
“Are you happy now, Gray Squirrel?” asked Little Lamb.
“Yes, I am happy. It’s not the nuts and seeds will make me happy, only me,” said the squirrel.
“Are you happy now, Fat Robin?” asked Little Lamb.
“Yes, I am happy, because I love my children whether they are with me or not,” said Fat Robin.
“Are you happy now, Pack Rat?” asked Little Lamb.
“Yes, I am happy, because if I am happy inside myself it doesn’t matter if I have my things or lose my things, I will still be happy.”
Little Lamb sat in the center of the circle. All his brothers who lived in the forest sat around him and listened. “‘Little Lamb,” called one of the animals, “Tell us about happiness.”
And as they all sat in the circle,
God’s love was in them and around them
and they were all very happy.
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