August 8, 2008
Good morning from Collegeville,
What a beautiful week of weather in Central Minnesota. Almost everyday has been a “10”. I am enjoying the summer but it is going by too fast. Happiness is sitting by the water fountain in front of Sexton Commons on campus of St. John’s University and soaking in the mid-morning sun, sipping on a Diet Pepsi.
In the February 27, 2006 issue of The New Yorker, there was an article on pursuing happiness. I try to read it once every month. It turns out that by nature we have been hardwired to emphasize the negative. Survival depended on being wary. “Call no man happy until he is dead” was the Greek way of putting it. According to positive psychologists, once we are out of poverty, the most important determinant of our happiness is our “set point”, a natural level of happiness that is largely inherited.
Ready for the secret of happiness? Here it is: Happiness is equal to our set point S, plus our life conditions C plus a bit of volunteer work, V “H=S+C+V”
Last Saturday I joined hundreds of other folks in Little Falls and we painted seven houses that are owned by low income families. This has been going on for seventeen years. If your set point for happiness is low, you may need to do more volunteer work. If you want a copy of the article on happiness, let me know.
The show this week is a rebroadcast of shows from the Great Minnesota Get Together, The State Fair. Guests include Becky Schlegel, Patty Griffin and Jearlyn Steele, plus Minnesota broadcaster, Tommy Mischke, Del McCoury and his band. Enjoy the show. See you at the fair on August 29th, MPR day at the fair.
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” Marcel Proust
Category : General 