I'm not happy, I'm cheerful. There's a difference. A happy woman has no cares at all. A cheerful woman has cares but has learned how to deal with them.
Beverly Sills (1929-) American Opera Singer
I think happiness comes in small increments, in the moments when we have awareness. Â
I can't say I'm cheerful, that sounds too chirpy, but I am happy, at least in moments.
I found it provocative when a woman from England mentioned at another list I'm on that Americans are preoccupied with happiness, whereas it would never occur to her. There are simply too many negative things in the world to be happy.
On the other hand, I strive for happiness, as it doesn't always come easily for me. And it brings me back to an even keel.
Karin
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Doesn’t it seem odd that as children, we are almost always happy, but as adults, it often-times feels like you need to work at being happy? I wonder what makes this change?
Michelle, that’s really interesting. I sometimes think it is because I was protected from a lot of the news as a child — it was my folks who were on the front line. Now it is me.
But I also think a child has a keen curiosity for the world — stopping to watch a bug, for instance — and isn’t as goal oriented.
I try to notice the things a child would — and I try to turn off my thoughts, LOL!