The Power of Smiling

Happiness Between The Spider and The Fly

SAD, BUT TRUE:
“In an age when everyone is ‘overworked, underpaid and trying to multitask,’ a phone call is likely to be an unwelcome interruption, so it should be avoided…”
—J. Whitmore.

Considering all the phone numbers, voicemails, e-mails, bulletin boards, and IMs my “friends” and I actively use, I quickly counted three dozen channels of communication.

Today’s ever-expanding web of communication and networking is both an entrapping bane that raises the bar of expectations and diminishes our ability to be patient, to focus, and engage people in a meaningful manner that nurtures intimacy and relationships—as well as an opportunity to inspire and influence others.

Happiness lies in the balance between being the gregarious spider and autonomous fly.


Don’t call me, I’ll text you, april 29, 2011, amNewYork

Buddha Says:

"Yum! Fall food season is here! Garlic mashed potay-toes! Pump-kin pie! Spaghetti squash, Mac-n-cheese, hot apple cider! Mexican hot chocolate! Let's get fat! Let's get happy!"

(Photo courtesy of blogger Fran Betlyon)

Quote of the Day

"Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it." Groucho Marx

"Gay" Means "Happy"

"Gay" Means "Happy"

Words (not image) seen on a t-shirt-for-sale, today in Union Square Park, NYC

Happiness can be a taco with all the fixings

"After all, if your loved ones are OK, the bills are paid and a couple of monster tacos aren't going to break the bank, how much more do you really need?

I know. The guacamole."

New York City:
I came across this editorial on the recent Princeton study and I thought I'd share it with my readers. It reflects a certain philosophy that a lot of us American-Latinos and Latin Americans understand and live by on a daily basis.

There is a wonderful saying in Spanish that I love to use whenever toasting, usually for no better reason than to acknowledge the happiness one experiences when simply being at a "happy hour" with friends:

¡Al salud, amor y dinero, y el tiempo para disfrutar los todos!
To our health, love and money, and time to enjoy them all.

I think it is worth noting that "to money" here does not mean "a lot of money" or winning the lottery, it simply means, as Ms. Anglin points out, is "just enough money" to live responsibly by and to enjoy life often, which in essence is not much money at all, if you do it right.

Happiness can be a taco with all the fixings
by Maria Anglin
(Originally posted to mysanantonio.com on September 9, 2010)

To all of those people who love to repeat the dicho about how money can't buy happiness, a new study has come along saying "Fijate que si."

Well, sort of.

On Tuesday, the Houston Chronicle reported on a study that found people's emotional well being, or happiness, increases with their income up until they hit $75,000 a year. After that, the researchers reported, the level of happiness stays about the same.

People making less than that, a Princeton economist told the Chronicle, face too much “stuff” that interferes with their day-to-day happiness. Presumably, the economist was talking about facing cost of living expenses and decisions that could lead to more bills, although he might also have been talking about all the “stuff” que compra el vecino with really bad credit. It's hard not to be a little envidioso of El You-Only-Live-Once and his new iPad, his week-long trip to Curacao and the new and loaded hemi, unless you're with him on Saturday morning when he's frantically figuring out which bill to pay and which one to leave in the shoebox hasta que caiga el proximo paycheck.

But for those who count their coins responsibly, it makes perfect sense that a little more scratch makes life easier. Anybody who has ever had to make the difficult choice between the beef fajita monster taco con guacamole y un taco flaco de picadillo con papas knows that this is true. For those who don't understand the happiness a good taco can bring, here's another example — a full tank of gas vs. as much gas as you can afford with the few bucks left over after the trip to the Dollar Only, plus the quarters that were hiding under the napkins in the car's console. It's safe to bet the study's findings also have something to do with the happy people surveyed also having a good memory; nickeleando is a tough lesson and one not easily forgotten.

Those who quote the song “Pobrecito mi patron, cree que el pobre soy yo,” are likely hovering around that $75,000 mark, which is probably lower in places like San Antonio that are blessed with a lower cost of living than other big cities. While money can buy us a lot of freedom and peace of mind, it can also attract big problems along with all manner of sinverguenzas, ratas and pediches — which is why those who know this actively avoid buying lottery tickets with huge jackpots.

After all, if your loved ones are OK, the bills are paid and a couple of monster tacos aren't going to break the bank, how much more do you really need?

I know. The guacamole.

—mariaanglin@yahoo.com

Confucius says...

Simple meals, water to drink, bent elbow for pillow: therein is happiness.

JESSICA: I’M A HAPPY GAL

(Source: Bits O’ Buzz, AMNY)

Jessica Simpson doesn’t care about the scrutiny over her weight gain. “Honestly, I am right where I’m supposed to be. I am so happy,” she said on CBS’ “Early Show” yesterday.

Be

If you want to be happy, be.

Leo Tolstoy

You’ll hear the same message from me over and over again—Happiness is an action verb and not simply a present tense. In other words, happiness requires a pro-active effort.

As per many of the conclusions from the scientific studies I’ve presented here in this blog, happiness is determined by three primary factors—1. a genetic proclivity toward this state of being and disposition, 2. advantageous or conducive circumstances, and perhaps most importantly, 3. a concerted effort.

For what comes naturally for some of us, doesn’t always come. You’ve got to meet happiness head on if you want to be happy more often than not.

That’s why the Constitution guarantees the right to pursue happiness and doesn’t simply guarantee happiness outright.

In Benjamin Franklin’s own words, “You have to catch it yourself.”

Happiness is never stopping to think if you are.

Palmer Sondreal