The truth is, I had to think about it. Growing up, I was known as morose, sad, and moody. What was this "happiness" thing. To be honest, I thought Rowan And Martin were onto something when they sarcastically said, "May the bluebird of happiness fly up your nose".



As in Kafka's memorable opening line in Anna Karinina "All happy families are alike. Each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way". We had our own way of being unhappy. And if someone tried to change that status quo it was considered "making waves". Victim mentality was a good thing. People felt sympathy. It was also a very unhealthy thing, fueled with a good bit of dysfunction. But I feel grateful to have experienced it and moved on, learned from it, and possibly won't repeat it.

Of course what is happiness to me might not be happiness to Vladimir Putin or Bill Gates or Woodie Allen or Sally Field. I just drew names out of a hat. My happiness depends on all sorts of factors, and if they are not all like ducks in a row, it does not mean I am sad. If one option of my being happier is not available, I will try another, until I feel better that moment than I did the moment before. It is all a series of actions that seems to make me happier, from walking in nature, to being kind to children and animals and the elderly, to studying and learning something new to holding hands with my girlfriend.

"To thine own self be true", said William Shakespeare. That statement alone showed how far ahead of his time he was, long before psychiatry and antidepressants ever existed, custom designed for those who had never been true to themselves. Shakespeare knew, being true to oneself, is a key element in being happier. I didn't say happy, though it could result in that. But I don't know a person who is true to him or herself who is not at least a bit cheerful. I may have even taken the phrase way to literally. I still think about it daily as decisions have to be made.

Given Shakespeare's famous saying, let's why not list how often we mess with our own well-being happiness, or make certain it does not happen. We take jobs which are terrible but pay well. We spend with our credit cards like their is no tomorrow to feel a gaping hole. We do not like our co-workers and they do not like us. We do not like our boss and he does not like us either. We marry too young and have kids. Maybe a good friend did the same first so we followed suite. We were not ready, or the opposite. We decided not to get married as we grew up in an unhappy home, and we would "show our parents with sweet revenge" (That was my modus operandi for many years). Suddenly it occurred to me they didn't care what I did as long as I was in the pursuit of happiness. Both my parents have been dead over a decade. I miss them. I do not live for them, but I cherish their memories, the good and the bad.

We learn some mighty lessons from these "failures of adulthood" and I do not say that judgementally. I am no different than anyone else in this arena. I have changed careers many times (put on new masks) until I found the one that fit me. It worked and I am much happier. I didn't say happy. I dont know if I am or not. But I am usually optomistic.

I don't know that I am a happy person, but I am a lot happier than I was ten years ago, and I hope a decade from now I'm a lot happier than I am now. To repeat a great movie phrase from Robert DeNiro to Billy Crystal in "Analyze That" "It's a process, doc".

As trite as it sounds K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, stupid) makes perfect sense. The simpler the better. In the complex world in which we live it is not easy, but we eventually find ourselves to be a beacon in which others reach out and want to be with.

As far as work, life is too short to do work you hate. We do not live in our parent's generation. The opportunities are endless in the workplace. Yes, at times to find the job we really want, we may have to start at lower pay, but doing what we love attracts the kind of income that suits us.

I am not saying one has to work in the world of cartooning or humor to be happy. But it doesn't hurt to expose oneself to it.

Dr. Bernie Siegel who wrote a best-seller in the 1980's, Love, Laughter, And Healing helped me a great deal when my mother was dying of cancer. I called him. He claims in his book that he had incurable brain cancer and exposed himself to many comedy movies, videos, cartoons, and sitcoms. He had no idea if it would help heal him, he just felt his mortality and wanted to laugh a bit. Within a few years, his brain cancer was in remission and he still is alive and writing two decades later. I have discussed this with him on several occasions and he offered up some of the greatest advice I ever had, expose your mom to humor. I went to the video store daily and found a different comedy film every day and we watched it together. It also brought me closer to my mom. She lived about four years longer than they expected.

Aside from Dr. Seigel's advice, a Gary Larson Far Side exhibit I saw in Washington, D.C in 1986 maybe had the most impact on me to demonstrate just how important humor is in our culture. Dr. Seigel taught me how healing it is. Knowing I am in a field that makes people laugh and feel healed, offers a great deal of joy into my own life. So helping others is an action in my pursuit of hapiness.

So please, give the gift of laughter today, whether its a joke, a book, a cartoon gift, or comedy video. Pass It Forward, as they say.