A female friend sent me a private message not long ago and asked me my secret to happiness. There was a long pause. She typed the sound (in text) of the "Jeopardy" theme song in between final jeopardy as if I were running out of time for the answer.
Growing up, I really never remember people seeking me out for my grand sense of humor or light-heartedness. I was a mixed up kid like so many children of the '60's and carried a good bit of that rebellious baggage with me into adulthood. Maybe therapy was a good thing. I learned my boundaries and limitations. I could not change the world. I could barely change me. Learning those limitations makes life simpler. And the simpler I am, the happier. Controvery used to appeal to me. It does no longer.
Because all people and families have issues and problems, same as me, I cannot deem myself any happier than anyone else. I am just happier when I do things that are healthy for me. Little things often do it. Calling or visiting a sick friend. Getting on the floor and playing with my pet. Working on my cartoons or cartoon products. Knowing a wonderful woman loves me, possibly for the first time ever. All these things add up, even knowing, as the song says "Dust in the wind". So I learn to live in the moment, for today. Projecting is painful and not very productive for me.
Happiness, to me, if there is such a thing, is really getting down to basics. By basics I mean go as far back as The U.S. Constitution "...and the pursuit of happiness" which is actually written by these stern men with no smiles, at least not in their renderings, but they knew the importance of it.
"To thine own self be true", said William Shakespeare. That statement alone showed how far ahead of his time he was, long before psychiatry and antidepressants ever existed, custom designed for those who had never been true to themselves. Shakespeare knew, being true to oneself, is a key element in being happier. I didn't say happy, though it could result in that. But I don't know a person who is true to him or herself who is not at least a bit cheerful. I may have even taken the phrase way to literally. I still think about it daily as decisions have to be made.
With this in mind, let's count how many ways we compromise our happiness, or make certain it does not happen. We take jobs which are terrible but pay well. We do not like our co-workers and they do not like us. We do not like our boss and he does not like us either. We get married and have kids out of peer pressure. All our friends and associates did it, but we were not ready, or the opposite. We decided not to get married as we grew up in an unhappy home, and we would "show our parents with sweet revenge" (That was my modus operandi for many years). Suddenly it occurred to me they didn't care what I did as long as I was in the pursuit of happiness. Besides, they were deceased. Or we spend too much on credit to impress someone or a lot of people and then feel the pressure as the bills come.
I learned that thought the book was great, never to take "Everything I Ever Needed To Know I Learned In Kindergarten" too literally. Yes, it offered some pragmatic lessons and great analogies, but the most powerful lessons I have learned, to transcend from sadness and depression, have been mistakes made in adulthood. I make less of them now, but I still make them. I don't get all upset when I do. I realize there is a lesson about to be learned.
I try to think of the great DeNiro line (to his psychiatrist Billy Crystal) in the movie "Analyze That". "It's a process, doc". Of course out of context it is not funny, but in the movie it's a scream. And life and happiness, getting more of both, is, indeed a process, and can be a painful one at that. But the risks are worth the rewards.
Simple is good. Complex is not so good. It is human nature to like drama. Leave it for the movies. Live your life more simply and experience more happiness. It is really that simple. Sounds cliche but I can guarantee you, in my half-century here on earth, I have an inkling of wisdom in that area.
Don't quit your day job, but learn new subjects. Start a hobby. It might turn into a business one day. You never know. That is what happened to me. I started creating cartoons as a hobby, never thinking in a million years it would be more than a hobby. Ten years later it is the largest offbeat cartoon website on the Internet, Londons Times Cartoons with ten niche and superstore gift shops, and over 100,000 funny gifts and collectibles bearing our cartoon images. It was only because I was true to myself. I no longer have or want my day job, thank you very much.
I am not saying one has to work in the world of cartooning or humor to be happy. But it doesn't hurt to expose oneself to it.
Mom discovered she had leukemia in 1995. I began researching and found a book by retired surgeon Dr. Bernie Siegel who wrote a best-seller in the 1980's, Love, Laughter, And Healing. He had incurable brain cancer and exposed himself to many comedy movies, videos, cartoons, books, etc. He didn't know if it would help heal him, but he knew he would at least get to laugh in his final days. Within a few years, the cancer was in remission and he still is alive and writing two decades later. I have talked to him several times on the phone, when mom was sick, and he gave me some direction as to what life is about. I truly believe the humor had much to do with her attitude and longetivity. (she outlived a few of her doctors).
Dr. Seigel's advice became paramount in my life and still is. It had a monumental effect on me. The only other such event was a Gary Larson Far Side exhibit at the Smithsonian in the mid-1980's. I saw just how important humor and cartooning really is in our culture. I never knew it at the time, that I would enter the world of cartooning, but my fans and friends insist it has a calming and healing effect. That adds to my happiness.
So please, give the gift of laughter today, whether its a joke, a book, a cartoon gift, or comedy video. Pass It Forward, as they say.
Article Source: http://www.orbitaloc.com/
The Internet's most popular offbeat cartoon is Londons Times www.londonstimes.us by Rick London. He also has numerous cartoon funny gift shops which he feels help spread joy One cartoon gift item store is Top Cartoonist Rick London Shares Ways To Become Happier
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