Thursday, June 17, 2010

Be Happy---No, I don't have to

There comes a time in life when you have to walk away from all the pointless drama and the people who create it, and surround your self with people who make you laugh so hard that you forget the bad and focus on the good. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Repost if you agree.

This is one of the latest FaceBook virus posts going around. But, as usual, I take everything at heart-level.
While I think walking away from pointless drama and those who foster it and surrounding oneself with creatively funny people who love life is a good thing, I DON'T think that "Life is too short to be anything but happy."

Joy lives with sadness. People who tell others how to feel with "be happy" are missing an important step toward feeling happiness--honoring sadness when it visits. It's unreasonable to think one can "be anything but happy"and a myth to think that one can abolish sadness.

Acknowledge and honor the sadness that enters your life and sit with those who feel sorrow and you'll find release. You'll find that neither sorrow nor joy stay forever, and then you'll be living----and you'll be happy.
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10 comments:

  1. AnnaBelleJune 17, 2010 at 6:41 PM

    Some people don't have "pointless drama", they have true sorrows. Sure it would be great to be happy all of the time but that is simply not reality.

    I'm happy most of the time and it was not a waste of time to mourn for my son.

    Thanks for sharing this and your perspective on it - on the surface focusing on being happy sounds like a good idea but it doesn't sound like a whole and complete life, if that makes any sense.

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  2. caitsmomJune 17, 2010 at 6:47 PM

    Makes perfect sense AnnaMarie! I choose a whole and complete life over fake "I only choose happy" life. Thanks for the comment!!!!!

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  3. still life angieJune 17, 2010 at 7:01 PM

    I wish this post would go viral. "Honoring sadness when it visits." Absolutely! Also, acknowledging anger and hurt...all these thoughtlessly happy viral posts end up really brushing over the beautiful nuance of life.

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  4. loribethJune 17, 2010 at 7:07 PM

    This reminds me of the book "Bright-Sided," which I just wrote about on my blog! It's impossible for everyone to be happy all the time. And our culture's insistence on it can be hard to swallow at times.

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  5. Kara's MomJune 17, 2010 at 7:08 PM

    I have ZERO patience for people who speak in platitudes. it's clear to me that those people have never suffered the kind of bone deep sorrow that I have. It's mindless chatter that I choose to ignore.

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  6. SophieJune 18, 2010 at 1:50 AM

    That whole 'faking it till you make it' thing never really sat well with me.

    Honouring grief, absolutely.

    Audrey can I friend you on facebook. What's your last name?

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  7. BarbaraJune 18, 2010 at 6:37 AM

    What nonsense. How would we appreciate "happy" if we don't experience the full range of our emotions.

    It's almost as if there's something wrong with you if you're not happy all the time.

    "Honouring sadness" yes indeed.

    xxx

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  8. UnknownJune 18, 2010 at 9:50 AM

    Obviously a meaningless platitude by someone who has never experienced loss the way we have.

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  9. ericaJune 18, 2010 at 4:48 PM

    Thanks for this. Sometimes there seems to be a lot of pressure to be happy and not let yourself "burden" others with sadness. And you are so right - that kind of happiness is superficial at best.

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  10. SaraJune 18, 2010 at 9:53 PM

    Well said—and I love the new quote in the sidebar.

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