HAPPINESS AND POSITIVE THINKING

Category: Life

Almost on a daily basis I get a barrage of emails from friends and associates on the wisdom of positive thinking to make ones self happy. Most are chain emails which I wouldn't forward even if they came attached to a $100 bill. I delete all chains no matter what the subject as I do have the intelligence to decide what I deem to be funny enough or important enough to forward. Since I respect the individuality of each of my friends, I realized that all subject matter may not be what another wants.

Getting back to the 'positive thinking aspect of the emails received, here is one that I received today.....the subject being 'Happiness'

"I am more and more convinced that our happiness or our unhappiness depends far more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of those events themselves."

- Karl Wilhelm Von Humboldt

I know that these things are meant to 'inspire', but what I would truly like to know is who the author(s) are and have they ever been sick without medical, homeless, hungry, without money or the means to acquire money, like a job, etc.????? Should we expect people to be thrilled to meet these negative events in their lives and put aside the nature of those events? Tell me how anyone can be truly happy knowing that there are people in this world (some no further than our front doors) who are struggling; and are unhappy.

If the authors had any of the above or more to experience, would they be so positive? Maybe they haven't personally suffered, but someone they know or perhaps has seen has suffered and is unhappy. Can one be truly happy when there is so much sickness and sadness all around us? How can anyone experience true and complete happiness when another is deprived of that same emotion due to their suffering? When did we begin thinking that happiness is a personal commodity?

How many people in need do the author(s) merely ignore to create their own deception of happiness? We can never be happy as long as there is one person experiencing sadness thru conditions beyond their control, as we cannot be free until all experience freedom.

Positive thinking is a good concept, but it tends to bring apathy to the life of the one who thinks that everything is (or maybe, will be) OK. I believe that the thought process here is that if I don't see it, or I ignore it, it won't affect me. We shouldn't ignore it, for it is all around us. We should ask ourselves what we can do; how we can involve ourselves to bring happiness, wellness and peace of mind to all.

My philosophy is that a constant smile on ones face depicts a fool. Anger over life's injustices creates the need to do something, to get involved so that all might experience this happiness. What we need in the world are not positive thinkers but dreamers and doers. That is visionaries with a plan that would encompass all.

I thanked the person who forwarded the above quote to me as I now had a Fresh idea for this new blog. Remember "I'm OK, You're OK? My book would be titled "I'm Ok ONLY when You're OK".

My happiness will come only when I can see happiness on the faces of all. I guess that is to say that I will never experience that happiness in that lifetime as long as we are to willing to say that we make our own happiness and our own misery. Ask a child what he/she wants to be when they grow up; what would make them happy. I will guarantee that none will tell you that it would make them happy to be sick or poor or homeless!

Be a visionary.....Get involved......Get out of your self-constructed Comfort Zones....... Make a difference. Look around you. What you see should make you angry enough to Get Involved.