The ingredients of happiness...

[BUTTERFLY]

Well guys I'm here to talk about something important for everyone: happiness.....

Today I came across one of the best philosopher ever....Montaigne!
In his masterpiece "Essais" he focuses on the ingredients of happiness....

Here they are the main points:

1) be up to the circumstances for being the author of your own life
sois à la hauteur des circostances pour etre l'auteur de ta vie
sii all'altezza delle circostanze per essere l'autore della tua vita

2) know that every problem does have a solution
sois conscient que tous les problèmes possèdent une solution
sappi che ad ogni problema c'è una soluzione

3) you always have to put yourself into questions
mets-toi toujours en question
mettiti sempre in discussione

4) take care of yourself
prends soin de toi meme
prenditi cura di te

5) focus on what you are doing, don't think forward
focalise ton attention sur ce que tu es en train de faire, ne pense pas au future
focalizza l'attenzione su ciò che stai facendo, non pensare al futuro


Well, I thought it was a good idea to write them down...you never know, they may be useful for someone.... They can sound too simple but actually I think they are cool...

[AYHJA]

Hey, your first VU worthy topic, that's awesome..! And you included the Translated French...Nice... :D

I was just trying to explain this to my son yesterday...On the way home from being out, he told me that he wished we were rich...I explained to him what it was like for me to grow up, and gave him some comparisons to understand...I asked him how many channels he had on his TV, and he said, "About a thousand..." When I told him how many I had (local channels 4 and 9 and MAYBE 27 on a good day) as a child, he had the strangest look on his face...I told him I didn't even have a TV in my room, let alone a video game...

I asked him if he remembered what Uncle Ben told Peter Parker about great power...He said, "With great power comes great responsibility..." I then made examples of how Peter thought it was cool to be Spider-Man, but how it eventually got Uncle Ben killed, and Aunt Mae hurt, so sometimes more is not always better...I told him it is better to be humble and to learn to appreciate the things you have and not worry about things you don't...More money, more problems is the slogan I know...I think he got it...

Happiness is choice...I have not had a hard life in comparison to some, but I know what its like to go without...To be afraid and scared for my life and the life of those I love...I honestly feel I had a great disposition through it all and its carried over into my adult life...I've had periods in my life where I had enough money to go out of town and stay gone for days without packing luggage, just buying clothes when I got to my destination...And I've had periods of my life (like right now, lol) where I don't have money to pay bills or fix things...

You just have to find a way to smile through it all...The bible may not be true, and it might be true, but the story of Job is always an inspiration to me...If I'm doing better than Job, then I'm certainly alright and will make it...

Thanks for this post Fox, its good stuff...

[BUTTERFLY]

French and Italian too... ;)

[darklighter1]

What no Swahili? Good topic and words to live by Fox and great follow up about your son Ube.

[zaphodz]

Happiness is a choice. However, your external environment, people around you and your own predisposition (glass half full or empty) can affect where you sit on the happy-sad scale.

1) be up to the circumstances for being the author of your own life

Take control of your own destiny or at least attempt to take some control of your life?

2) know that every problem does have a solution

Some don't. Or at least not a solution that is happy or beneficial.

3) you always have to put yourself into questions

Empathy? Putting yourself in someone else's shoes?

4) take care of yourself

Most important :)

5) focus on what you are doing, don't think forward

Not sure of this one. Planning ahead is not a bad thing I think.