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In this beautiful life, there is always beauty for those who want to see it

“God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.” —  Voltaire

“How much of human life is lost in waiting!”Ralph Waldo Emerson

Photo:Well/Awake

‘Dance like no one’s is watching’

'HAPPINESS'

Fr. Alfred D'Souza

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time...and remember that time waits for no one.

So, stop waiting until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until winter, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink.... there is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

Work like you don't need money,

Love like you've never been hurt,

And dance like no one's watching.”

More on What is Happiness? What is the Good Life?

And, yes, it is true, ‘Dance like no one’s watching’...And Be Happy!

I have experienced it myself, Todi-Week, Tuscany, Italy, 2019:

Watch the Video Celebrating the Joy of Beauty, Happiness and Friendship

Photo:RemedyGrove

What is Happiness? What is the Good Life? Lessons from the ancient philosophers to help improve our lives today. 

The secret to happiness? Contentment!

In Praise of Gratitude 

In these troubled times let us be ordinary and enjoy the simple pleasures of life

The beauty of living simply: the forgotten wisdom of William Morris

The Pandemic and the forgotten Love Story

Dance with Mother Nature...And Be Happy

Why Happiness Should be Taught at Our Universities

Happiness and the Good Life

A must- read book

By Mike W. Martin

Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: May 2012

Photo: Oxford Scholarship Online

'Happiness in Good Lives explores happiness as an important dimension of fully desirable lives. Happiness is defined as loving one’s life, valuing it in ways manifested by ample enjoyment and a robust sense of meaning. As such, it interacts with all other dimensions of good lives, in particular with moral decency and goodness, authenticity, mental health, self-fulfillment, and meaningfulness. The book integrates philosophical issues with topics of broad human interest, and it includes chapters on how happiness connects with the virtues, love, philanthropy, suffering, simplicity, balancing work and leisure, and politics. Happiness is a moral value, as well as a self-interested value, which we have a responsibility as well as a right to pursue. Myriad specific virtues contribute to pursuing happiness, and in turn happiness contributes to or manifests an array of virtues such as love, self-respect, gratitude, and hope. Although happiness is by no means the entirety of good lives, it helps define some additional aspects of good lives, including authenticity, self-fulfillment, meaningfulness, and mental health. It also enters into understanding what it means to live a balanced life, and also a simple life centered on what matters most. The moral status of happiness is a central concern in the history of ethics. Recent “positive psychology” has breathed new life into traditional philosophical issues, and the book draws extensively on psychological studies. It also uses myriad examples from memoirs, novels, and films. One chapter is devoted to assessing the claim of Mary Shelley’s monster in Frankenstein: “Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.”

CONTENTS:

1 Loving Life

2 Valuing Happiness

3 Betting on Virtue

4 Authenticity

5 Happily Self-Deceived

6 Suffering In Happy Lives

7 Paradoxes of Happiness

8 Happy To Help

9 Shared Pursuits In Love

10 Balancing Work and Leisure

11 Simplicity

12 Felicity In Frankenstein

13 Personal and Political

Buy this Book