THREE BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR A HAPPY FAMILY

Before we talk about the requirements that make a happy family, let's try to define what a

happy family is. What makes for family happy? Is it something material like a big house or a

nice car? Is it financial stability? Is it a good paying job, vacations, a cabin by the lake?

I know that at least for me, a nice job, a big house, and a nice car I could drive to my

cabin by the lake would definitely make my family at least a couple of notches happier. But are

those the things that really make a family happy. I think about the really happy moments in my

family's history and they all come back through flashes of smiles, hugs and laughter. I may not

remember what car we had then, when I was a young little woman, but I clearly remember the

times my father took me fossil hunting and how happy those times were for me having special

time together.

So I believe there is something more profound, something deeper, something that lasts

long after the shine of the new car is gone. I do not know, and I do not think it really matters

which one is more important than the other, but my belief is that the main ingredients for a happy

family life are: Love, honesty, and caring. I believe that every good thing comes from some

combination of those three.

Love is the main ingredient, the feeling that keeps the family together in spite of anything.

Love lets us forgive easier and understand each other better. It makes us care for one another,

worry about one another, want to do nice things for one another. Love is the one thing that keeps

the family together. Love brings about empathy, compassion for the loved one, it makes his pain

our pain, his sadness our sadness and the wanting of doing everything we can do to stop his and

our pain.

Honesty would have to be another one of these requirements for a happy family. Being

honest with our partner releases us from having to keep things secret and from the constant effort

of not being ourselves. Honesty brings people