And so it has begun: the children's songs. The kid is barely more than a week old and we've got children's songs going on YouTube. But it occurred to me that sometimes even something meant for children can raise deep philosophical questions. For example, what if you're happy, but you don't know it? You're not going to clap your hands, obviously, but I actually think there are a lot of people who are happy and don't know it. Case in point: George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life - he thought there should be more to life, but he was wrong. This movie is a great cautionary tale about a man who didn't get his heart's desire, and was better off for it. He didn't get to get out of Bedford Falls and see the world, but what he found was better - family, stability, etc. But it took divine intervention for him to snap out of his midlife crisis and see how happy he was.

So I would say to people, if you're happy and you know it then you are doubly fortunate. But if you don't think you're happy, it could be that it's only because you are longing for things that won't make you happy if you get them. As Dorothy discovered, sometimes what's really best for you is what you already have. Or another way to put it, sometimes learning to be content with what you have is a far better pursuit than the striving after things you don't have. Anyway, St. Augustine would agree. For him, it's all about the object of your desire. And to make anything other than God the object of your desire will always lead to fear and frustration. You'll either want what you don't have, or worry about protecting what you do have. So it comes down to God and family. That's where true happiness is. And with that, I've progressed from children's songs to country songs, so I guess I better quit while I'm ahead.