thoughts on the news of the day: happiness

hmmm…..

            “Six Surprising Reasons You’re Cranky” reads my internet web site this morning.  The reasons turn out not to be so surprising.  They are things like: a too bright bedroom, a crabby cubicle neighbor, worrying about your spouse, worrying about meeting new people, your weight, and not getting enough sleep. 

            Abraham Lincoln once said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be”.   In other words, we can choose to be happy, if we want to be.  Now, some people live with chronic pain, and those folks probably would not agree with Lincoln’s statement.  Pain can make you pretty cranky; and physical pain that you live with all the time can make you really grouchy. 

            So far in my life, I have not had to live with much physical pain.  Oh, sure, I used to have horrible migraine headaches when I was younger, but I always knew that eventually they would go away; nothing like the day after day pain that many suffer from on a constant basis. So, the people I really admire are those who do live with perpetual agony, but still seem to be able to put on a happy face.  They are the saints of life.  They have made up their mind, no matter what to be, like St Paul, “content in whatever circumstances come their way.” 

            Probably Abraham Lincoln and St. Paul are right.  We do choose whether we are irritable or not.  But it still helps to get enough sleep.

            hmmm…..