. . . How Am I Supposed to Fake It?
I heard a guy on the radio say it is our obligation to be happy, just like any other moral obligation, like not stealing, providing for our children, and obeying the speed limit (well, maybe two out of three is not bad). How is that exactly supposed to work? I understand the benefits of happiness and the joys of serotonin fixes, but I am an honest often melancholic soul. So how does one generate real happiness from the dark raw materials of tensions within and without?
When my bursts of joy and uncontrollable laughter come (that make it even hard to breathe), I can feel that the happiness in that is less an obligation than a reality. When I feel otherwise, am I supposed to fake it?
Should we cultivate happiness in some fashion by attitude adjustments and by thinking on the whatsoever things are pure and lovely jazz? Most assuredly. But to say I am genuinely happy when I am not is enough of a joke to make me, well . . . laugh!
Oh you truly are a Crozier.
ReplyDeleteHave you read the Happiness Project? I enjoyed it. You have to take out of it what applies and ignore the rest. I thought she had some good ideas, and the idea of writing a blog came from there. And to be honest, my blog makes me happy - when people comment or join as followers it makes me even happier.
Actually, I had never heard of it till you mentioned it once. I'm reading it now. The radio guy I mentioned has a part of his show that is called the Happiness Hour. I get part of what he is promoting, but happiness is very circumstance dependent, so much of it sounds phony and based on positive thinking in spite of reality. There is probably a healthy middle ground there somewhere.
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