Christspeak, Rx

...as a nightmare.

Imagine you are a young, smart, good looking guy. You earn several hundred thousand a year. Your friends envy you. Your fiancee' is drop dead gorgeous, can't get enough sex, likes it on top and could care less about girly things. You are friends with the stars and have a permanent sideline/locker room pass to any sports event in the country. Is there any part of the American male fantasy missing from this life?

When we first meet Jerry McGuire, he is living out the ultimate male fantasy, American Style. Yet at the same time, he can't look himself in the mirror without literally doubling over with nausea.

He makes money, but sees the true toll it takes on his wealthier clients and their families. He sees patterns of insincerity and unabashed shallowness in his friends- and to his horror- himself. Though his fiancee' can't get enough, he can and he finds her lack of girlish sympathy overrides his need for good sex. The young man with everything finds himself longing for something more.

I love this movie for many reasons, but I'm especially grateful for it serving as the needle that pops the bubble of this All American male fantasy. Yet I look around and I see alot of people chasing the same empty dreams Jerry McGuire lived, as if it actually accomplished anything. It is not the pursuit of happiness, it is the need for happiness.

The older I get the less I value happiness and the more I crave contentment. What's the difference? I am not smart enough to articulate it well, but I think of happiness as a wonderful, but shallow moment. It comes and goes. Contentment and the fruit of being contented is far deeper and a great deal more satisfactory. It breeds inner-peace and makes us able to enjoy and appreciate the fleeting moments of happiness.

Think of the few contented folks in your life. They are the ones who celebrate your victories the most- even when it far exceeds what they've accomplished. They are the ones who grieve and mourn your losses regardless of their own sufferings. They can't be jealous, because they are content.

Don't misunderstand, happiness is worth pursuing, but it has little to do with relationships. Any married person will tell you relationships built around happiness are like a castle built on sand. They never last.

So if you find yourself unhappy, go rent Jerry McGuire for the laughs and be reminded there are far more important things in life than happiness.