You couldn’t possibly want to be happy all the time, could you?

Image from Pediped

Actual happiness looks pretty squalid in comparison to the overcompensations for misery.

Aldous Huxley

Did I tell you about the time I was at dinner with a bunch of lovely people including a magistrate and his wife? (No, please do read on as this is not to impress you with the friends I keep but to impress you with the levels that silliness can reach).

His wife, who sat across me, was keen for me to explain to her what the practice of meditation involved and what the benefits were. As I explained, I shared what, to me, is one of the most obvious desires in life. You guessed it – the desire to be happy.

“Oh” exclaimed the magistrate who had been listening intently, “I wouldn’t want to be happy all the time. I’d get bored!”

It wasn’t the first time I’d heard this line of ‘argument’ against happiness (Can you believe it, arguing against happiness?). I don’t know where we found it but this silliness about being bored by happiness would be outrageously hilarious if it wasn’t quite so tragic. It has certainly profited countless numbers of businesses and had a hand in misguiding too many people, some of whom you’d expect would know better. But, I digress.

“Really?” I asked, checking that I had not misheard him whilst giving him a chance to change his mind.

“Oh yes! I mean I thrive on problems (why of course, that’s how he makes his living!). It keeps my juices flowing (and the money too, I’ve no doubt). I’d be miserable if I didn’t have something to get my teeth into”.

“Alright” I agreed. “But tell me, how do you feel when you’ve got your teeth into something juicy?”

Silence. And then

“Well, if you put it that way…”

We want to be happy and let’s face it, we would simply be thrilled to smithereens if we could always be happy. Has anyone ever been so happy for so long only to find it has led to his/her boredom? Let that person stand up now and be counted!

I thought so!

Be happy, decide to be happy, allow yourself to be happy. Don’t be afraid of being happy. Admit to yourself you’d be happy to be deliriously happy for the rest of your life! I assure you, you won’t die of boredom. On the contrary, you may actually begin to enjoy the thrills and spills of life, problems and all! Aldous Huxley is teasing. Even though the compensations for misery look pretty attractive, they pale into oblivion when you’re happy!

Lucy Lopez – Hire Me!