Go Easy On Me? Adele’s Quest for Personal Happiness

Go Easy On Me? Adele’s Quest for Personal Happiness

What does it mean to be true to yourself? Dr. Sri unpacks Adele's new hit song, Easy On Me, and explains how this popular song expresses an inverted definition of personal happiness. Although we are all tempted to find happiness within our own feelings, Dr. Sri reminds us that true happiness is found when we live for God and for others.

Snippet from the Show

"We find our identity and purpose not in an inward quest of our own feelings, but rather, in an outward quest that leads us to love God and those he has placed right in front of us."

Go Easy On Me? Reflecting on Adele's Quest for Happiness:

"I just felt like I wanted to explain to him, through this record, when he's in his 20s or 30s, who I am and why I voluntarily chose to dismantle his entire life in the pursuit of my own happiness."- Adele ( British Vogue)

  • The therapeutic gospel message about being true to one-self and following our own feelings is a popular theme in today's secular music, movies, and overarching culture.
  • The emphasis on the inward quest into our own feelings can often lead us to neglect our responsibilities to people around us.
  • The deepest desires that God places on our hearts are the desires that lead us to others.
  • God calls us to an outward quest, to find our identity and purpose in our family, neighborhood, our community.
  • We find true happiness when we live our lives for God and for others. Fulfilling our committments to those around us shapes us into better and truly happier individuals, friends, spouses, and parents.
  • While it's important to listen to the desires of our hearts, we also have to learn to discern whether our desires are truly good and inline with God's plan for our lives. Catholic anthropology teaches us that our feelings and desires are not always stable and ordered. We all have a clouded intellect, a weakened will, and disordered passions.
  • We have to remember that other people depend on us so the choices we make truly matter.
  • When we lay down our lives for others and follow through with our commitments to others, we are fully alive.

Practical Takeaways

  • Learn to take responsibilities for your actions. Don’t make excuses.
  • Be aware of your brokenness.
  • Remember that we find out identity not in the inward quest of our own feelings,but in the outward quest of serving God and others.
  • We find true authentic happiness in our relationship with God and our relationship with others.

Resources

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