I am grateful for air conditioned movie theaters. I am grateful that there are a bunch of good movies that I want to go to the theater to see, so many that I don’t think I’ll have time to see them all in the theater. That’s a problem I’m OK with having.
My prompt for this week is happiness. Here’s how it is used in the books I am reading:
- After two brief months, they found themselves enjoying a close friendship- an unexpected gift for two women who’d neither expected nor asked for much happiness. Min Jin Lee
- Stitch these lighter, more carefree moments together in your heart so the memories become like a well-loved quilt, ready to embrace you with a sense of happiness, warmth, and comfort when you need them most. Melissa Michaels
- He’d laughed, and I loved the way his eyes crinkled around the corners, like happiness enveloped his entire face. Julie Clark
- More happiness hormones were released when people imagined themselves lying on a beach than when they were on the beach. Jenifer Close
- Life’s too short to hold on to the rotten things- I’d far rather have a head full of happiness. Janine Marsh
- Friendship is a place for public happiness, a give and take that is receptive to the world and to others. Alissa Wilkinson
- They had that look about them, a smug religiosity, as if happiness were owed, in this life and whatever followed. Nina de Gramont
- “I am sure you will be necessary to my happiness here.” Deborah Davis
How I’m going to think about happiness:
- Does another person make you happy?
- Should we rely on others for our happiness?
- Is it happiness, or it’s pursuit that we are entitled to?
- Is happiness a goal that we should be actively persuing?
- Do we say I’m not happy as a sort of excuse?
- Do we think happiness is the big things and not the small?
The Bacchae Chorus (excerpt) Euripides Blessed is he who emerges from under affliction. In various ways one man outraces another in the race for wealth and power. Ten thousand men possess ten thousand hopes. A few bear fruit in happiness; the others go awry. But he who garners day by day the good of life, he is happiest. Blessed is he.
I rather be content than happy.
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It’s funny, but I just wrote mondays post and I dip my toe into happy and content…
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I tend to coast thru life in a state of neither sadness or happiness. My state of mind is just even with the occasional dips and spikes. But to be content would be blissful.
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Seriously….you read my thought this morning about a different topic…
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Films I hope to see in the theater: Mainstream: Elvis, Thor Love & Thunder, Retro or Art House: Where the crawdads sing, A patch of blue (celebrating Sidney Poitier), The Heroic Trio/Executioners double feature (celebrating Michele Yeoh), Girl Crazy (celebrating Judy Garland) & Arrebato (Spanish horror)
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Elvis….for Butlers performance alone is a must see. We are supposed to see Thor at some point this weekend. Will see craw cause I read the book. I saw Marcel the shell with shoes yesterday. Loved it. I think you would appreciate its quirky charm
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That too, forgot about that 😁
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There are a lot of movies to see. I didn’t go last weekend, yet might this weekend; and, air conditioning, yes please. ❄️
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There’s a ton of good stuff to see, and all different types and styles! For a cinephile, it’s heaven
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Exactly so!
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Interesting questions…..
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💗
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Happiness comes and goes I think, it’s not a constant for anyone and I think it’s differently experienced by everyone. I might be wary of someone who says they are “always” happy.
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You’re on my Monday wavelength too!!
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I believe we’re in charge of our own happiness (contentment/word-of-the-day), but that we are fulfilled through our authentic connections with others. Relying on others to make us happy sets us up for disappointment.
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Although I agree that happiness is up to us and not others, I would add that being around chronically negative, unhappy people makes it harder to be happy.
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Oh yes!! I’m quite protective of my own energy.
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My saying is always people can’t make you happy, but they can make you unhappy
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Agree…we have to fulfill ourselves!
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Are content and satisfied the same? I’d say I was happy most of the time but I think you have to have the full range of emotions in order to experience life to the fullest.
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But to answer one of your questions, you absolutely cannot rely on others to MAKE you happy. In my opinion the only one that can do that is you. And I haven’t been inside a theater since way before the pandemic.
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I love going to movies in theaters!
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I think content and satisfied are the same, but that’s a great thing to ponder…
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Happiness is hormonal or harmonic…
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That’s a cool way to put it…
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Yes who is responsible for our happiness? I don’t necessarily think we should rely on others for our happiness, but others can certainly bring us joy and happiness. Ex # 1 once told me, while she was cheating on me, that I was totally responsible for my own feelings and emotions and, therefore, there was nothing she could do or say that would anger me, upset me, humiliate me, or make me sad in any way. I call bullshit on that one. Others can certainly be responsible for creating feelings of joy, happiness, worth . . . the list is as long as there are emotions to experience. Now, I find happiness and joy in the smallest things 🙂
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I always say that someone can’t make you happy, but they can certainly make you unhappy…
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My mom is a perfect example of someone who thinks she needs another person to make her happy. It’s been so sad to watch her life since my parents divorced over 30 years ago. Personally, I am happy randomly over small things.
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Me too
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I don’t know if anybody is entitled to happiness itself, but they’re certainly entitled to the pursuit of it if that’s what floats their boat.
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👍👍👍
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Cannot rely on others for our happiness but there are those who do make me very happy at times!
There are definitely days where I am happier than other days, but most of all I try to be content. Content with the here and now. If one is content they will be happy.
I am intrigued with your book’s words on how one thinking about lying on the beach made them happier than actually being on the beach!??? How can that be? LOL! 🙂
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I’ve read studies that say planning something and looking forward to something is actually more beneficial than the actual thing
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Interesting. I guess there is a heightened state of happiness in anticipation as an event draws near.
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That’s the theory…which I sort of agree with
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Happiness is an inside job! Hugs, C
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💗💗
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More great food for thought here. Also brings up for me the question of whether happiness can be only a fleeting thing or a more long term state.
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I think every day has pockets of happiness and pockets of not so much…
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