After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window.
"I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room .... just wait."
"That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied.
"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind.
I already decided to love it ... It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away ... just for this time in my life."
The Bottom Line: There are a lot of people in this country who are unhappy and who receive no help from anybody to increase their level of happiness.
The Solution: I believe that something should be done to remedy this situation: Over the past century research has accumulated on why people experience emotional distress as well as what makes people happy. Most Indians (correction-most human beings) have very little familiarity with this information. I believe that mental health professionals should disseminate this information in an easy-to-understand, entertaining, and affordable fashion. In effect, these professionals should Teach the public how to be happier. We need to change the focus of psychology from a negative (i.e., illness, pathology, and disorder) to a positive one (learning skills, changing priorities, getting needs met, etc.). Ideally, the transition should be:
- From a Negative focus to a Positive focus
- From a focus on Illness to one of Education
- From Stigma and Avoidance to A Quest for Knowledge
- From using the term Patient to Student
I believe this approach should appeal to many individuals and The Journey offers information and guides you through exercises and techniques that will assist you in discovering your natural role in the Universe. It will help you align yourself with the Cosmic energy, which will give you the power to materialize your deepest aspirations and your heartfelt desires.
The Journey will help you to become mindful of your own powers and to savor the ultimate potentiality that every moment in your life represents. It will guide you to spiritual fulfillment.
Editor's Choice of Books on Happiness
