MondaySchool: Seeking happiness in a mad, mad world.
Week of July 14, 2025: Practicing the art of life in a world full of chaos.
MondaySchool is a weekly offering to foster relationship with Divine Wisdom in everyday life, art, and work.
I. Word / Image / Idea
intentionality
I believe in living a poetic life, an art full life. Everything we do from the way we raise our children to the way we welcome our friends is part of a large canvas we are creating.
- Maya Angelou
dump him
mastering hardships
My theme is that happiness is not the work of magic. Happiness is the final and perfect fruit of obedience to the laws of life. One who lives in accordance with these laws has a talisman of happiness always at hand.
I know no study that will take you nearer the way to happiness than the study of nature - and I include in the study of nature not only things and their forces, but also mankind and their ways, and the molding (sic) of the affections and the will into an earnest desire not only to be happy, but to create happiness.
A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships. Happiness is not for wild animals who can only oscillate between hunger and repletion. To be happy we must exercise our reasoning faculty and be conscious of our will and powers. In other words, we must have learned the secret of self-discipline. To be happy we must do those things which produce happiness.
[ …]
It all comes to this: the simplest way to be happy is to do good. This is instant and infallible happiness. The surest proof that this is the law of cause and effect is, we may try every other conceivable way of being happy, and they will all fail. We cannot gather figs from thorns or grapes from thistles. The tree bears fruit after its kind both in the soil and in the soul. If we spend the time we waste in sighing for the perfect golden fruit in fulfilling the conditions of its growth, happiness will come, must come. It is guaranteed in the very laws of the universe. If it involves some chastening and renunciation, well, the fruit will be all the sweeter for this touch of holiness.
From Helen Keller, "The Simplest Way to Be Happy," published in Home Magazine (February, 1933).
II. Reflection / Prompts / Prayer
spotify cringe
How do we create a good life?
I think there is a gross misconception that being happy, and having a good life, should come about naturally, easily, or without stress. And that we must be getting it wrong when things don’t work out, are hard to bear, or circumstances are utterly imperfect.
But I think this logic is way off.
If I may be so bold, it seems to me that having a “good life” is the process of making difficult—but life-affirming—decisions about how to live.
Earlier today I found out that an artist I admire (Moira Smiley) was removing her music from Spotify after its CEO just invested a bundle in some weapons defense technology startup which she (obviously) opposed. That is a big decision for an artist.
Listen: I use Spotify more than any other app on my phone. It is always on. I pay an affordable monthly fee to use it and it seamlessly connects me with any song I want to play at any time. But this is a fresh (and even stickier) fly in the music-streaming ointment: am I gonna have to change how I listen? How much more will I have to pay? And what if the service is simply not as good?
We have so many choices to make, all the time. And we are constantly having to weigh our values against our conveniences. We are encouraged to make choices that are right for us, and that align with our values. But how will we manage the inconveniences?
So I have to wonder: what is a way forward that is not simply reactionary (which I am definitely feeling), but actually intentional?
And to be even more coherent with the ethos of Wisdom, Music, and Love, dare I ask: what is an *artful* way to choose? What is the “art full” choice here?
It is not an easy one. In some ways it is not about the choice at all. It is about the process of holding the question: how do I choose to live in this day and age, with all of its complications, complexities, and conundrums, that is still conscious of doing good?
Not because I am singularly punishing the Man; but because I am inspired to live wisely and well. That has quite a different ring, no?
But doing good means making empowered choices. A true life demands them; but real life evades them. Conveniences, compromises, casualties: how will we choose a life that does more good than harm?
We must practice the art of artfully affirming our life, and the life of those around us. (Especially when that’s hard.)
prompts for contemplation
Take a quiet moment to contemplate the following questions:
How does artfulness appear in your life?
Do you believe that you need your life to change in order for goodness to be lived right now?
Can you embrace your capacity for slow-growing happiness right now?
What is standing in your way?
What would Love have you let go of so that you may grow into the full stature of your goodness?
How will you affirm your life today?
a prayer for artful choosing
Beloved Wisdom:
Thank you for my life, my mind, and my reason. Thank you for the compass of my heart, and the patience of my spirit.
Help me to sense the truest north of your way, and your will, so that I may curate a life of goodness, service, and vital intentionality.
I ardently pray: show me how to cultivate a life of true beauty.
Amen.
III. Tarot Reading for the Week Ahead
question for this week:
How may we embody artful happiness in life(a), art(b), and work(c)?
a) LIFE
Knight of Pentacles
Slow and steady wins the race. The earth is full of Good Things, life is inherently full of Love. You must peel away the illusion that you are not part of this, and see life as a way of unfurling more fully into happiness. It is not easy to perceive, so be purposeful in your observation.
b) ART
IX of Swords
Place your struggle on an altar to be given up to Spirit. What you sense as obstacle is also a place that is calling to be retrieved, healed, and comforted. Do not be so harsh on yourself, or the world. Let your heart soften into possibility of what you cannot yet see, but perhaps may sense. Goodness is possible; it will not look like what you think it should be. This is the art of life!
c) WORK
Temperance (XIV)
All actions are first informed from the inner Self. The outer life we lead is a flowering from within, so too is your work rooted in the Self. But work is not Life: it is a bloom on the tree of living. Artful happiness in work is not about a perfection; it is about navigating the way through uncertainty with grace and wisdom.
Hope you have a beautiful week. Choose wisely. 💗
Love,
Allison
Thank you for reading.
My writing explores the (tricky!) process of realizing the true outlet for your creative Self in the world—what I call The Pathway of Creative Individuation. This includes developing your Creative Intelligence (CQ), building a bridge between inner and outer worlds, and crafting intentional life, art, and work.
I love to help brilliant, thoughtful, and courageous people realize the creative vocation they are seeking (but don’t yet know where to look). Learn more at allisonmondel.com