Amy Childs

How I Became a Happiness Consultant (part 1)

I have been investigating what it is to be human for as long as I can remember. In this quest I dissect the things that “everyone knows” to be true and examine the layers of unconscious assumptions inside them. It’s always exciting for me when I uncover a new, unexpected, and often murky course that leads to fun and joy. In lieu of conventional training, I have been trained by my inner guidance, using my life to study humanness and to constantly ask the question “what makes people truly happy?” I implement all that I have discovered in the process of living my own life to the fullest.

I was raised by nurturing parents and had a pleasant childhood. I feel extremely lucky that in my formative years I did not experience much (if any) shame, violence, manipulation or fear. I credit my parents for raising me in a way that allowed my inner self to remain intact (albeit hidden), because this prepared me for deeper explorations in my future. My childhood environment allowed my ability to think clearly and creatively to develop naturally and without barriers.

In my teen years I lived in a small Christian community, and without question accepted its belief system as my own. At age 19 I married the most eligible bachelor in town - a minister more than 10 years my senior - and we moved to New Zealand (his new pastorate) a few days after our wedding. This sudden change precipitated what I consider the big crisis of my life - a time of intense questioning of almost everything. I discovered that my previously unchallenged beliefs about God, religion, the United States, government, marriage, and the purpose of life on earth, were bringing me more confusion and harm than freedom or joy. My husband did not understand, appreciate, or share my journey, which left me in what seemed to be an impossible position. At that time I became pregnant with the first of our three children, and I decided then that “making the best of things” would be my strategy for having an enjoyable life regardless of my circumstances.

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