A dear friend of mine admonished me to do this the other day, and I'm inclined to agree with the sentiment, although it's more difficult than it seems. As I get older, I grow more convinced that a state of happiness or contentment is an issue of choice rather than circumstance. So, even as I realize how few things I really control in life, I am trying to choose to be happy.
It's a difficult endeavor. Having had a recent conversation with a faculty member I admire, I am almost convinced that happiness is hard-wired to haplotype. Not to excuse my dour nature, but Ray was always a happy child and he's an even-keeled individual who doesn't let things get to him. Some people find it second nature to be inclined to happiness. I've always tended to be a sober child and an even more somber adult.
Back in the early days of the Peanuts series, Charles Schultz demonstrated this principle. His character Lucy won't let Linus play with her toys but she will let him play with a rubber band. He takes it and has a grand old time with something simple. Lucy can't stand for that and takes it away: "I didn't mean for you to have THAT much fun with it!"
Some people think we're not supposed to have fun or joy or contentment with certain things. When participants define terms differently debate becomes quickly an exercise in futility. I think sometimes people want me to relax my standards and beliefs because they're not supposed to work. If they do, then these people lose their excuse and justifications.
Next week in lab, my students and I will discuss animal behavior and altruism in nature. Even bats and mice will notice and remember those moochers and looters who depend on altruism to survive. Only humans seem to make excuses. Virtue may not come with immediate rewards, but if a man is as he thinketh, then I choose the higher thoughts and higher pleasures. At least, I will try to.
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