And...We're Back

I'm trying something different here. It was pointed out to be by a wise older woman that I would probably be happier if I didn't complain so much.

And since I am currently reading three different books about happiness, I think I've moved into a new obsession from the QCC format.

I don't know exactly what form this blog is going to take. But I'm sick of complaining, so it's time to move on to something else.

For example, how does one achieve happiness in day to day life? Who defines what it is? How do we live a happy life, bearing in mind that shit happens and life is suffering? (Cheery Buddhist thought for you.)

I've spent a lot of time in what Dr. Seuss calls "The Waiting Place." This is the zone you get into when you're waiting for your life to begin, forgetting, of course, that it's already well underway, and possibly into the second act already, or at least intermission.

So on to happiness. What the hell am I waiting for, an invitation?

The three happiness books I'm devouring at the moment are: Happier by Tal Ben-Shahar, The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, and Bluebird by Ariel Gore. They couldn't be more different from each other.

Gore's book is the most awake to reality, in my opinion. It's certainly the most sobering. Gore eloquently talks about how as women we have been expected to be happy with the status quo, even when it hasn't been a very fabulous one much of the time. I haven't finished reading it, so I'm not sure what the take-home is yet. She does a lot with quotes from other women, which is always nice. It's pleasant to recognize yourself in print, or to be reminded that not everybody thinks the same way, and that our needs are varied (and challenging). Gore reminds us that most happiness studies are done by men on women, and that medicating unhappiness away is not the best choice in many instances.

Rubin's book is a cheerful "stunt journalism" (her words) year-in-the-life-of chronicle of her quest for happiness. It's fun, and, at times, quite inspiring. It goes month by month, so I am now in December. She has a whole blog and user-friendly website which gives you a toolbox, among other things, as well as help making resolutions (which are big) and a place to talk to others doing "happiness projects." (Why the quotes? I dunno. I guess in some ways what I'm doing is a happiness project, but I have to call it something else because I hate copying people.)

Ben-Shahar's book so far has been good, and the only one written by a man on my bookshelf. Apparently he teaches an enormously popular class at Harvard about how to be happy. Just goes to show you that all that status and prestige doesn't make most people feel all that jolly. It seems a miserable place to me to begin with. I don't get the Harvard appeal. Is it just me? Or is it over-rated? There are so many good schools. Bit I digress.

Ben-Shahar, Gore and Rubin all talk about doing a gratitude journal. This, apparently, is a great way to boost happiness. So I am going to try it, possibly here, possibly in notebook form.

So for today, the

Five Things I am Thankful For:
(in no particular order)

1. I got to teach today.
2. My kids are happy.
3. It's Friday.
4. The roads are getting cleared enough that I can probably go running tomorrow.
5. I'm getting jazzed about job prospects and opportunities.

Okay. There.

So do stay tuned. Who knows what can come of this?