. . . 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!
