He has tried numerous times to explain this course to me and give me details about the professor and the discussions that occur in the class. After a minute or so, I promise you his voice magically transforms into the teacher's voice from the Charlie Brown movies and I no longer hear a word the boy says. I smile sweetly. He hasn't caught on.
I did catch enough to know that this is some sort of philosophy class and the professor is quite taken with the idea of child-like happiness versus mature happiness. Apparently they have spent hours discussing whether a trip to McDonald's can in fact give you true happiness. The professor contends that it never can while the students of course think it would. This explains why most of us would rather hang out with the students than spend five minutes with the professor.
My son is having the hardest time blindly accepting this man's theories and ideas. Which is great. That is what college is all about - discovering your own beliefs and values. Questioning authority.But once again, I find when I search my heart, I am to blame for my son's inability to agree with this man. My son lived 18 years with me - a case study in child-like happiness.
I am a happy person. Almost all the time. And yes, I have some large things that are the foundation of my happiness - health, I would say love but I'm pretty sure the professor lists that as a child-like pursuit, a home, etc. But little things make me happy too.
Oh so very happy.
And I like to focus on those small things. I spent years teaching my kids to do the same thing. I have told each of my kids so many times that every day of their lives, when they wake up they will have a choice. A choice to be happy or not.
As for me, I'm going with the happy.
Child-like or not. It is working for me. Now I realize some people are not this lucky and have medical issues that truly prevent them from being happy. But most of us can choose. And don't we all know those people who seem to never want to be happy? I actually go out of my way to avoid those people. I do. I even skip social situations where I know I will be in a small group with a person like that.So what if a bag of Doritos, a cool fall breeze, the smell of cinnamon, or the purr of a cat makes me happy? I'll just continue to smile my child-like happy smile and spread the joy.
I think the perennial question is why everyone wouldn't want to do the same.
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98 comments:
They had a course like that on 'Community'. I thought it was a joke.
I'll take my happiness how I can get it, and it's so often in little things...
Amen to choosing happiness. I tell my kids the same thing. Life is all about the choices you make - you can choose to be all sour with lemons or make the lemonade. And like you, I too avoid the "looks like they are smelling something bad" people. You know who they are - they always have their faces scrunched up like someone is waving $hit in front of their noses. Maybe I'm naive, maybe I'm a bit daft - but I choose to be happy and if I step in $hit, I walk in the garden to feed the roses....
Well said, my friend!
Why do folks choose to take the grumpy/cranky/judgmental route when they can be happy instead?
I don't get it.
I totally agree! We have a neighbor who I have dubbed, "the whiny lady" because all she does is whine when you talk to her. She whines about everything and anything. I want to ask her if she's ever heard of being thankful.
Very well side and I love the photo of the pouty child. Why decide to be like that when life is so short and full of great happy moments- you just have to recognize them!
Not only can a trip to McD's make me happy but at certain times of the month that happiness makes my husband very happy. LOL
How happy is your life if you devote it to classifying "types" of happy and picking it all apart? HUH? Glad I'm not the professor. Sounds like he could use a big cup o happy.
I'm with you, I just like to be happy. College is just the way to the degree, which may be the way to the job. The course may be insignificant.
Secretia!
Great post! Choosing to be happy opens up a whole world of possibilities doesn't it?
I agree!!
I was on medication that put me ina MAJOR funk the last few weeks.
But, I feel it FINALLY leaving my system.
I was sitting in our yard last evening, cooking apron on, dinner cooking, sitting at our patio table, wine in hand, wathcing my husband and son play football, and by golly, it was the happiest I have been in a very long time.
Great reminder - perhaps I should post this post on my bathroom mirror!
Professor sounds unhappy.
They tore our McD's down to make way for a new improved McD's.....Bright side, we're going on vacation so the McD's is just a small blip on my map of happiness. I wish everybody had your outlook on life, wouldn't life be grand? Plus there would be no need for a class on Happiness. LOL!
Sounds like a good philosophy, wish I could practice it everyday. Unfortunately I can't but thanks for the reminder
I'm with you. I like to be happy.
Nobody tells me HOW?
xx
My husband is very much like that. He finds the happiness and joy in everything, even if it's something bad that happened, he's going to find a way to laugh. I love that about him. I'm not a negative person. I find joy in small things too but I worry too much and his happiness makes life more beautiful.
My kids get out of bed happy when they smell cinnamon rolls baking. I'll take it!
I'm grumpy every morning. For about five minutes. And then I'm good to go! So, basically, my household just stays away for that first five minutes until I can get my bearings and turn my frown upside down!
I am a happy person too. It drives my hubby nuts. I always say he is mature enought for the both of us! LOL The only time I struggle is during PMS week.
I choose happiness, too. And apparently I smile all the time - I usually like to say, when questioned about it, that it makes people wonder what I'm up to. ;)
Love this post! :)
It is indeed the small things in life that can spell happiness - after all, it is the parts that make up the whole.
I don't think it's an accident that God asks us to become like a little child-- they find and embrace happiness quickly and appreciate the source, no matter how small.
Love your posts. I chose to be happy too. Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens...
That course sounds a few levels below "dumbing down." $20,000 for a class in patting your inner child? eww. But since you can smile and be happy, we should all take a page from your book. :D
I love this!
I have a coworker who is the most negative, unhappy person I have ever met. It just seems like it is exhausting to be that unhappy.
I think that's the best way to be happy. Happy with the little things. It makes it easier to be happier with the big things.
Great post. I say the same thing to my little one...you always have a choice (I even wrote it on my post yesterday).
Glad to hear you wake up happy! As do I.
much love
I do the "smile and nod" thing already and my son is only 11! And he knows I do it because he's taken to waving his hand in front of my face..."Hello, hello! Is there anyone IN THERE?"
I agree. Well, most of the time. Some days I'm a menace. But most days? You are so right.
yum - doritios! is it lunch time yet?
My definition of happiness:
A cold Diet Coke
A quiet beach
The latest Stephen King novel
Does it get any better than that?
Child like happiness is the most pure and honest kind. Why would we not want that. And seriously, McDonald's would make me so happy right now:)
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As crazy as it sounds, some people actually enjoy the chaos and turmoil that sometimes accompany unhappiness. For lack of a better way to phrase it, they are "happy" being unhappy. Being miserable brings them joy.
But I agree; if you let them, those people can really bum you out.
Nice post. I find it emotionally exausting to be around negativity.
I totally agree. Which is why I live in the Pond!
LOVE your attitude. Just love it!
First off, I totally agree with-- "...colleges charge $1000 per letter in the course title." I hadn't thought of it that way but you nailed it!
And second, what a fabulous post! Happiness is a good path to take. Thanks for the reminder. ANd as far as McDonald's-- Isn't that why they call it a HAPPY meal :-)
I was just wondering how your kids were doing in college-- Honest-- Waiting in the school pick-up line yesterday I wondered how you were all handing it. Glad to see your son is into class and sharing his views with you.
xo
Amen! I'm already having my 3 year old choose whether she's going to be grumpy or happy. Sheesh it starts young. I think growing up with a happy mom is a wonderful way to grow up.
Great post! I am always happy and perpetually optimistic about life. It irritates some people. LOL! Too bad for them.
You can, indeed, choose to be happy. I had a life altering day when at 36 the doctor told me I had a 9mm aneurysm in my brain.
bummer
They operated but it left me with a chronic headache and other deficits. After railing at the world for a bit I decided I could either continue to whine and live my life like Oscar the Grouch or just accept what my life was and be...happy. I WAS alive which most people aren't with aneurysms of that size; they usually burst.
So most days I am indeed happy. I still have my whiney days but heck, pain sucks.
It's amazing how one person can bring so many down. As for happiness, I agree we must choose it. . .and choose it often! So much of the time, it's all a matter of perspective and finding those little things. why aren't we teaching the class on happiness?
Happiness is contagious spread it around! It feels great!
I'm off to smell the roses now. :)
Lord have mercy, that professor is a major blow hard. How the heck are you supposed to be graded when happiness is so subjective?
I think a lot of people confuse happiness with being content. Being content, to me, is an overall feeling of well-being no matter what life throws at you. Happiness is McDonalds. Fleeting, but damn good.
That's why they call it a "Happy Meal," Professor Downer. Jeesh, go dig up some of your pot from the '60s and chill.
P.S. The Good Cook - I want this crosstiched on a pillow:
"I choose to be happy and if I step in $hit, I walk in the garden to feed the roses."
Now THOSE are words to live by!
I had a professor like that. Problem is, you get a D if you don't understand the poo coming out of his face. ;-) (Or you don't look good in a bikini, but maybe that was just my professor? No?)
Keep on bein' happy, Mama. Smile, and the world smiles with you. The ones that aren't smiling are trying to figure out why YOU're smiling...and it's gonna drive 'em nuts.
That'll make you smile even more. ;-)
Sometimes happiness for me comes in a cup of coffee with some peppermint mocha creamer...its the little things
I totally agree with you. It seems right now everyone I have talked with seems sad or down. I will just smile and be happy I like it that way.
Preach it sister! I've taught children for many years that happiness is a choice we have to make. Find the sunlight in the rain and dance to the thunder!
Have a wonderfully happy day!!!
I choose happiness! and chocolate.
I kinda think happiness is ONLY found in the little things. It's like the big things are too, well, BIG to wrap my heart around, let alone find happiness there. Like "faith". I can't really get a grip on "faith", but contained within it is the love I have for my family, the little moments of grace and mercy that dot my days, and the growing ability to look past the momentary setbacks with confidence of better times to come.
So I, too, choose to be happy, one little moment at a time.
Me too! I am almost always happy...trying to cheer those around me. I can't help it:)
I loved when you referred to the adults in Charlie Brown talking, I do that too. Wish I knew how to spell it:)
Take care and have a great evening!
~C
I am a the glass is half full of something yummy person. I think your son is lucky he had a mom who saw the world with potential for happiness in simple things.
This glass of wine and dose of sun chips made me pretty happy. I am with you. Professors complicate things in dreary ways.
Ah, choice!
I totally agree with you. Life is so much better when you let the little things make you happy ... and choose to be happy regardless of what is happening in your life. Good for you!
Classes like that are a waste! Unless you are majoring in Confusion!
Someone asked how to be happy, which reminded me of something I heard on the CBC a couple of days ago. I'm not sure what study the announcer was referring to, but I googled this one: http://www.livestrong.com/article/18859-health-benefits-smiling/ which says, among other things, "New research has found a strong connection between smiling and your general health and well-being." So, apparently, one way to be happy is to smile. Who knew?
Are you my long-lost twin? :)
Whatever professor...happy is happy! I don't need a PhD to know that! LOL!
I'm so with you on choosing happiness. I talk about it with the wee ones, but I know I need to live it more. But the little things totally make me happy. I actually have a post in my head about that. But I guess I'll have to wait on that one for awhile now ;)
Even with health issues I choose to be happy. Even with pain. No point in being unhappy.
Laugh everyday, maybe every hour. And enjoy nice scents like cinnamon. . . . and vanilla . . . and don't forget the purring cat.
Yes, yes, and yes. Good choice!
So, so true. I had 'a day' today and told 'Nator', "Mommy can't change the circumstances, so we might as well have a good attitude." Mostly, it's about choice. So, here's to happiness. ;)
Life is all about choices, isn't it?
I can be happy without going to McDonalds. In fact, I tend to agree with the professor----ignorance doesn't make one happy. Sorry to disagree and I hope it doesn't sound negative, but what is the basis of "happiness" if one is supporting mass cow slaughter, unhealthy choices, and irresponsible environmental behavior?
Sorry, I'm with the professor---and I'm a happy person every day. But I insist we need to *know* what is real and what is illusion....
I'd love to hear from your son, btw....
Nice post. I think a lot of life is about perspective and yours seems to be a fine one.
What a BS class!!! I need to rethink my thinking choice of math.
This post made me all kinds of happy :-) I can always count on a good belly laugh or thirteen when I come visit you.
There aren't enough belly laughs in the world. Why don't they develop a college course -- it would totally fit the criteria of having a ridiculously long name: "The Dearth of Belly Laughs in Society and Our Search for a Solution".
Being happy didn't always come easy to me. As I've gotten older, it has.
And good for your son that he is questioning his professor and not blindly swallowing his ideas/thoughts.
See this is how you know I'm a prof, because I started to overthink. LIKE WAY OVERTHINK. I was going to start in about the divisions of modernism in philosophical theory & how that's taken away the idea of just going with the moment. Complete with quotes & references, then I realized I need to chill out. Life's too short.
Good for him to question & expand what he thinks. I love seeing students challenge, it means they are thinking.
Interesting class (one I'd love to sit in one, I think, even once). Excellent post!
Yes! Happiness is a choice. We can choose to be happy even in the worst of situations. Journey to Joy explores the ancient "secret" of being "content in any and every situation." See www.amzn.com/144218776X for more information.
Having just sent a check to pay our daughters tuition, your first paragraph had me!
The photo of the child with the morning hair makes me incredibly happy.
Living with a teen going through a clinical depression and anxiety disorder has messed with my normally happy self. But I'm working on it. The only thing that helps is prayer and meditation.
Abraham Lincoln had it right when he stated that most people are about as happy as they choose to be! And there you have it...our feelings of happiness truly do follow our initial "choice" to be happy! I think your son is correct in his choice to question his professor -- it's always good to sift, sort, and evaluate what life presents to us.
Dearest Debbie,
Thank your for your warm comments and encouraging words...it mean so very much to me...This post is delightful!!! And very appropos!!!
I LOVE happy!!!! You go, girl!!! We'll take the world by storm!!! I got to make everyone happy at the hospital yesterday...one nurse said I was the happiest patient!! So, I've got the medical world covered...and so I leave to cover the rest of it with your wonderful , humorous and happy post!!! Love to you~ Janine XO
P.S. I'll be back as soon as I kick these narcotics...perhaps, my happy is chemically induced??? LOL...
Hugs, Janine xx
I've never heard such a load of clap trap!! Not you, the course. I agree with you most of the way, sometimes life is sh*t though and choosing to be happy is very, very hard. We can but try though and often it works. But not always...am I making myself clear...? I am trying...
I choose happiness too. My kids have been raised that way as well.
Happy is easy, Happy is fun, Happy lets you live.
as a nurse I'm constantly telling my pts the same thing. Yesterday however I was cleaning house and feeling sorry for myself, my husband got home and told me that one of his coworkers lost his 5 month old fetus in the womb. His co worker was devestated and I felt stupid I really have nothing to complain about....
I definitely find happiness in the small things. Sometimes it's lots of work, cause life really is hard a whole lot of the time...but I love seeing the beauty around me.
And laughing over really silly things. I like that too :)
LOVED this post! I'll take a bit of happiness with a side of fries, thanks. ;)
Choose happiness - that should be on a billboard and be a movement that spreads across American led by you. ;-) I know what you mean though. A milkshake from Chick-Fil-A made me oooh, so happy today and now that I'm in a new place, exploring new things, I'm choosing to be happy even in this transition time. I have so much to be thankful for. I wish everyone else did the same.
I need your son to drop that class. So basically it's a class full of questions?
Well that means that I am euphoric everytime I am near a double stuffed oreo...I should be a chapter in the textbook for that class! lol
VIsiting from SITS. Thanks for commenting on my blog!
I think the little things really do make a difference in life.
And I choose happy too.
I agree that happiness is a choice. :) I smiled at your premise that colleges charge per letter...must be why my degree is in "English, Speech, and Linguistics." Guess they wanted to cram as much tuition in as possible.
Yah, my kids are totally *talented* with the piano. They didn't mess with Mozart...they compose all their *masterpieces* as they go. ;) ;)
I have severe medical issues but choose happiness. Thus I have survived, and I think it's 90% mental -- okay maybe not that much -- but i can definitely tell someone I meet in the hospital and PT is going to improve at least. Attitude, dude. It's not what happens in your life but how you choose to react to it.....
Someone needs to bring that professor a Happy Meal.
When in doubt, laugh.
Always choose happy!
To be able to get to the state where you are (mentally - not the state you live in since i don't know in what state you live unless I check your profile) Anyway, that is really the key to life.
Still working on getting there myself :D
When I am feeling irritated or just not that great, I start to look for the beauty around me. Simple things like how the flowers look in the backyard, or how cute I think my kids are, or how I am lucky to have a roof over my head and my health!
Seems to me that "choosing" to be happy is secret to a happy life.
Hey thank you for leaving the comment hun.
I have just had event after event after homework after tests so I can't even breathe let alone post or make any of the necklaces. :(
I hope to post tomorrow though. :)
Me too! I choose happiness. Life is too short not to! I am glad that your son is questioning the professor. That is wise!
I am so exactly like this, and if I have a rare day where I struggle, I simply start counting my blessings and that usually puts me right back on track.
I love the idea that happiness is a choice. Next time I'm in a bad mood, I'm going to remind myself of that.
I don't think happiness has to be denied to anyone, no matter what their situation. Just ask Dr Stephen Hawking!
But I agree with you, happiness can be found literally anywhere! Yes, even in (shock horror) McDonalds!
Steve
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