Current events make the pursuit of happiness even more of a challenge than usual. One of several books I'm juggling now is Dennis Prager's 1998 bestseller "Happiness is a Serious Problem." Perhaps we are missing some opportunities to increase our satisfaction with our personal situation. Here's Prager's take on health:
Take the expectation of health. For most people, the only time good health brings them happiness is when they do not expect to be healthy and then find out that they are. Imagine that you discover a strange new lump on your body. You go to the doctor, who tells you that it looks suspicious and that you should have a biopsy. After waiting a week for the results, you learn that the lump is benign. That day will be one of the happiest days of your life.
Now this is remarkable because the day before you discovered the lump you were not one bit healthier than you were on the supremely happy day you learned that your lump was benign. Nothing in the state of your health has changed, yet you are now profoundly happy. Why? Because on this day, you did not expect to be healthy.
...[I]deally, we should awaken every day and be as happy about our good health as if we had just received the wonderful news that a lump was diagnosed as benign.
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2 comments:
Thanks, I needed that today....I"m feeling better already.
Great perspective, will try to keep that in mind!
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