seeking, they can never find that which they desire. There is always
a fly in the ointment of their pleasure, something that robs them
of true happiness; or, possibly, combinations of circumstances
conspire to upset all their plans.

Life is a paradox; the true object of life is not the attainment
of happiness, yet if we attain the true object of life we find
happiness. Those who are ignorant of life's true purpose and who
seek happiness high and low, year after year, fail to find it. Like
a will-o'-the-wisp, it for ever eludes them. On the other hand, those
who recognize the true object of life, and follow it, attain happiness
without seeking for it.

In times past, people have made God a convenience. They have thought
they could drift through life, learning none of its discipline and
then, when in trouble, or things were not to their liking, they could
pray to God and have the unpleasant circumstances taken away. The
same idea is prevalent to-day. People have left the old orthodoxy
and look to various "cults" and "isms" to get them out of their
difficulties. They do not believe now that they can curry special
favour with God by prayer, but they firmly believe that they can get
what they want from the Invisible by demanding it. They think that
by this means they can have their own way after all. By this they
mean having a good time, with no unpleasant experiences, trials,
difficulties, adversities. They are, however, merely chasing rainbows.
The easy life they seek constantly eludes them, simply because there
is no such thing. The only life that is easy is the life of the strong
soul who has overcome. His life is not easy in reality, but appears
relatively so because of his strength.