Do You Have To Be Nuts To Be Happy?

Image by Denis Collette...!!! via Flickr

More good news with a different slant and I can't keep it till next weekend so... I'm continuing the happiness trend from my last post And Happiness Is... 

Here's more from Tony Deyal's superbly funny article. He says that since he no longer contributes to the GDP (ex-journalist), as a humorist he is contributing to the GNH (gross national happiness).

GNH is a termed coined in Bhutan and I quote...GNH goes beyond GDP and is based on the view that beneficial development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. 

The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance. end quote

One person's happiness is another person's pain is how the stories go:

A Cat in 7th Heaven

Image by ~FreeBirD®~ via FlickrA cat died and went to heaven. God met her at the gates and said, You have been a good cat all these years. Anything you want is yours for the asking. 

The cat thought for a minute and then said, All my life I lived on a farm and slept on hard wooden floors. I would like a real fluffy pillow to sleep on.  

God said, Say no more. Instantly the cat had a huge fluffy pillow. 

A few days later, six mice were killed in an accident and they all went to heaven together. God met the mice at the gates with the same offer that he made to the cat. 

The mice said, Well, we have had to run all our lives from dogs, cats and even people with brooms! If we could just have some little roller skates, we won't have to run again.  

God answered, It is done. All the mice had little beautiful roller skates.

About a week later, God decided to check on the cat. He found her sound asleep on her fluffy pillow. God gently awakened the cat and asked, Is everything okay? How have you been doing? Are you happy? 

The cat replied, Oh, it is wonderful. I have never been so happy in my life. The pillow is so fluffy, and those little Meals on Wheels you have been sending over are delicious!

A Frenchman, an Englishman, and an Iranian Define True Happiness

Image by Swamibu via FlickrThe Englishman said, True happiness, my friends, is rising early on a frosty autumn morning, getting on top of a good horse, and galloping off behind the hounds in pursuit of the fox.

A hard ride over fields and fences and rivulets until the fox is brought down. A ride back with the ears and the tail and then sitting before a roaring fire with a glass of good port. Ah, that is true happiness.

The Frenchman said,  That is not true happiness. That is merely animal pleasure. True happiness is meeting with the love of your life, having an intimate meal in a top-notch restauran with champagne, and then retiring to a wonderful hotel room where you can make frantic and impassioned love all night long. Ah, that is true happiness.

The Iranian said, That is not true happiness. That is merely a good time. True happiness comes when you are sitting in your apartment after a hard day, reading an underground newspaper that has been smuggled to you and checking the Internet for news about the dissidents and where the next protest against President Ahmadinejad will be held. 

Then there comes a knock at the door. Three agents from the Secret Service, the Mukhabarat, come storming in and ask Ardashir Khayyam? and you say, He lives in the apartment upstairs. Ah, that is true happiness.

 

The Shirt of a Happy Man

A king had fallen into a deep depression and could not be roused from his melancholy. His chancellor tried all kinds of remedies including wine, women and song. Nothing worked. 

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeFinally, a wise man from the east, after consulting the ancient texts and looking at the astrological charts, decreed that the only solution would be for the King to wear the shirt of a happy man.

The king's servants searched far and wide and, according to a poem by John Hay, they finally found a beggar who was whistling, singing and rolling in the grass with gaiety. This is our man, the courier said. Our luck has led us aright.

I will give you a hundred ducats, friend, for the loan of your shirt tonight. The merry blackguard lay back on the grass and laughed till his face was black. I would do it, God wot, and he roared with the fun.

But I haven't a shirt to my back.

And there ends Tony Deyal's Happiness Is. 

So, do you have to be nuts to be happy? YES, absolutely! And even that is subjective. However, you are going against the accepted version of so-called reality, so keep it between you and the door post. 

Be you. Be authentic in all you say and do and in how you live. That is your route to real happiness and the drama it brings. 

And what is YOUR version of true happiness, Dear Reader? Do comment and let me know.

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