true happiness... from a hidden place

Last year I read again the story of Anne Frank, the teenage Jewish girl who went into hiding with her family (as recorded in "The Diary of Anne Frank"). It was a very difficult time for her, her family, and the many, many Jewish people who were persecuted during WWII. Anne lived with her family and several other people in just a couple of small hidden rooms for several years until they were discovered and sent away to the concentration camps.

I was amazed when I read the passage below which Anne had written. Here she was, a teen-age girl, living a hidden existence in a small apartment with nothing of the "real life," barely enough food to survive, no real contact with the outside world... and yet, in the midst of the darkness and ugliness, she eventually discovered an ability within herself to find true happiness...

‘In due time I quieted down and discovered my boundless desire for all that is beautiful and good. And in the evening, when I lie in bed and end my prayers with the words, “I thank You, God, for all that is good and clear and beautiful,” I am filled with joy. Then I think about “the good” of. . . love, the future, happiness and of “the beauty” which exists in the world, nature, beauty and all, all that is exquisite and fine.

I don’t think then of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains. . . [Mummy’s] counsel when one feels melancholy is: “Think of all the misery in the world and be thankful you are not sharing in it!” My advice is: “go outside, to the fields, enjoy nature and the sunshine, go out and try to recapture happiness in yourself and in God. Think of all the beauty that’s still left in and around you and be happy!”

I see how [the other] idea can be right, because then how are you supposed to behave if you go through the misery yourself? Then you are lost. On the contrary, I’ve found that there is always some beauty left- in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you. Look at these things, then you find yourself again, and God, and then you regain your balance.

And whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery!' ~Anne Frank, "Diary of Anne Frank"

I am inspired by Anne. And I am humbled.