Newsletter Vol. #79 Thats How I See It!

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Happiness

                      Happiness is good health and a bad memory

Old-school psychology focused on what was wrong with people and then treated the problem. This approach never really allowed people to utilize what was going right in their lives so as to improve them.

A new positive psychological approach teaches that one's ability to feel good is actually in the control of the individual. A deliberate pursuit of happiness can be successful. You don't just think happy thoughts-you do positive things! Feeling good is the result of doing, of taking action.

Being happy is a lot like exercising: the more you do it, the better you feel. "When I feel happy, I am more energetic, enthusiastic and engaged," says Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project. "That frame of mind makes it easier to do the things that keep me happy: I work out more, get enough sleep, keep a good sense of humour and show tenderness to my family."

Happiness comes from being true to yourself. When your life reflects your values and interests, you will be a happier person. It is important then, if you wish to be a happier person, that you recognize just who you are and create an appropriate lifestyle that reflects your values and interests.

However, if you do get down, feel blue (and who doesn't occasionally), perhaps you need a plan that includes positive people, an outing, your favourite music, exercise, reading a good book, getting some good sleep, etc.
                                                Inspired by an article by Michele Sponagle

Thomas Mann
Happiness lies in the joy of achievement
and the thrill of creative effort.

The Link Between Happiness and Health

Happiness and longevity: A landmark study involving nuns was able to pinpoint health benefits that come with positive emotions. In studying the lives and deaths of the nuns, given clues to their emotional state, researchers were able to make an important discovery about happiness and health- positive emotion is correlated with longevity! 90% of the most cheerful quarter of the nuns was alive at the age of 85, whereas only 34% of the least cheerful quarter lived to that age.

Happiness and marriage: Positive emotion is also linked by research to marital satisfaction. In another astonishing study, researchers were able to examine the cheerfulness of smiles in women's yearbook photos and predict which ones, on average, would more likely be married, stay married and experience more personal well-being over the next 30 years. (Once again it was the most cheerful group!) What's striking about this is that healthy relationships are linked to strong immunity and thus, overall health - and so the 'upward spiral' continues.

Happiness and optimism: Researchers found that optimists live longer. Rather than just being cheerful, optimists tend to see the world in a distinct way: when positive events occur in their lives, they give themselves personal credit, attribute the cause to lasting traits under their control, and see each good event as a sign that more positive events are to come. This specific lens through which they see the world allows them to maintain more of a sense of personal control over things in their lives, as well as resulting health-promoting behaviours, and is associated with many benefits, including longevity. One study found that optimists had a 19% longer life span on average. Clearly, happiness and health can be linked by optimism.

Happiness and health: Happiness researcher Robert Holden conducted a survey and found that 65 out of 100 people would choose happiness over health, but both were highly valued. Fortunately, we don't have to choose: happiness and health go hand-in-hand. As Holden stated, "There is no true health without happiness."

Theodore Roosevelt
In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful,
But the gratefulness that makes us happy.

Speaking of Happiness, the entire family is heading to the Cayman Island in a few weeks for Brad's (our son) wedding to Suzanne. I had a piece on the Caymans, not in the slightest connected to the topic of weddings or happiness, but I thought I'd share it with you. I certainly will share more about the purpose of our trip after we get back.

Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

I greatly appreciate the research done by Lorrie Goldstein on the oil sands debacle. He states, "Canada accounts for 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the oilsands for 0.1%, or one- one thousandth of global emissions. Meanwhile, China, the US, and India, the world's top three emitters, are responsible for 42% of global emissions, mainly due to their heavy reliance on coal to produce electricity."

Andrew Wheeler, a climate change expert states: "If we develop the oilsands that are today commercially viable, the global temperature increase would be an insignificant 0.03° C."

"Given that America's use of coal to generate electricity is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the US, why is there so much contrived hysteria south of the border about Canada's insignificant oilsands. The hypocrisy of the US on this has been astounding."

This whole oilsands issue just raises a larger issue for me, that being why we are (globally) still pursuing oil as the answer to our energy needs when there are other options, much more environmentally friendly (e.g. solar, wind). What is the hold-up from switching from oil/coal to solar/wind as the primary producer of power?

I am aware of one small island in the Caribbean (Cayman) where the electricity for the island is produced entirely by diesel fuel - an island where it is sunny and windy most every day. Where solar panels and wind turbines are being used in some buildings on the island, there is not only no charge for electricity, but in fact, electricity is sold back to the grid/electric company. So, why then are not solar and wind producing more electricity for the island? I can only speculate that it is due to the fact that the initial cost to include panels and turbines is more than the traditional building costs and so contractors don't want to include the additional cost in their asking price. In addition, government owns the existing electrical company (which is run by diesel fuel) and they wish to remain in business, so there is no legislation encouraging or requiring the clean alternate-solar and wind-of which there is an abundance.

Do you think this small Caribbean island is indicative of many locations throughout the world in how they are dealing with fossil fuel gas emissions?                    That's how We/I see it!

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Happiness is a man's greatest achievement; it is the response of his total personality to a productive orientation toward himself and the world outside.

Humour (I hope)
Two hillbillies walk into a restaurant. While having a bite to eat, they talk about their moonshine operation.
Suddenly, a woman at a nearby table, who is eating a sandwich, begins to cough. After a minute or so, it becomes apparent that she is in real distress. One of the hillbillies looks at her and says, 'Kin ya swallar?'
The woman shakes her head no. Then he asks, 'Kin ya breathe?' The woman begins to turn blue and shakes her head no.
The hillbilly walks over to the woman, lifts up her dress, yanks down her drawers and quickly gives her right b*tt cheek a lick with his tongue.
The woman is so shocked that she has a violent spasm and the obstruction flies out of her mouth.
As she begins to breathe again, the Hillbilly walks slowly back to his table. His partner says, 'Ya know, I'd heerd of that there 'Hind Lick Maneuver' but I ain't niver seed nobody do it!'

John Condry
In seeking happiness for others, you find it for yourself.

Anonymous
   The purpose of our lives is to be happy.   

           Have a great week! Don't put away your golf clubs quite yet.