By Miles Patrick Yohnke
© 2012 All Rights Reserved.
They say we become our environment. That we cultivate our environment.
I'll set the scene in your mind for you. Picture a grocery store with a man in his 60s sitting on a bench by the exit door along with a few people around him that he hasn't seen in some time.
In broken English he says: "I have four children. One is a dentist. One is a lawyer. One is a doctor. And one is happy."
Are you happy? How is your self-esteem?
As a writer I receive many letters from India, PNG (Papua New Guinea), the continent of Africa and so many. So many corners of the world. For most who live there, they think of the United States and Canada where I live as being well off. Yes, we are rich with resources. But are we well off? Happy?
For the most part our North American customs and traditions are:
(1) Get a good job
(2) Get a nice house
(3) Get a nice car
So here we are. We get that good job. We get that nice house. We get that nice car. But then are we happy? Oh, they (the system of marketing and sales) forgot to tell us that won't really make us happy. Our parents didn't drill into our heads to be happy. They told us "get a good job. Then you'll be someone."
When we think of Mother Teresa. Do we think of the sweet ride (car) she had? Or are we saying: "man her house was the bomb" (which means for us older folks: wasn't it something?). Do we remember her? And all her great values? And for what principles she believed in and stood for?
And we talk about happiness. Like an unrecognized commodity.
"Houston, we don't have a problem. Earth, we have a problem. Anger. Hatred is all around us. But it doesn't have to be this way. A new self-healing spacecraft must be developed by us. One with precision pieces of engineering. Engineered with hope, joy, and kindness to our fellow man. One that makes all spirits fly."
Why is the UFC so popular? Before that it was the WWE. All this anger. It goes far back to when the gladiators fought. Killing each other in the coliseums. Thumbs up he lives. Thumbs down he dies.
Why? Why do so many enjoy this? Perhaps we aren't happy with our spouse. Our boss/workplace. We were bullied in school. So much anger and hatred placed upon our souls. We can't fight back, but it is good to watch. We can release it this way. But it is all wrong, isn't it?
So often these emotions enter into our daily lives. They seep into our relationships. Our parenting. Our being. Our legacy.
At the start of each new year most make resolutions. Maybe this year we should keep it simple. This year I'm going to instill happiness into my parenting. This year I'm going to be happy. This year I'm going to learn how to be truly happy.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Subject: Building Happiness
Release Date: June 10, 2022
"We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like."
- Dave Ramsey
"When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life."
- John Lennon
With the never-ending mass-shootings occurring and people dying from overdoses, not once have I heard the word 'happy' brought up in a press conference. Not once. You'd think this would be…