Connecting
with others over our lifespan is good for us, the Happiness Study from Harvard
had found.
Being
rich and famous won’t make you happy or healthy. Having love and giving love
will. It’s advice scriptures and counselors and grandmas have given from time
immemorial.
You may be saying, DUH. You may be wondering why they needed to spend $$ and sixty years of an ongoing study to find this out. You may be sulking that you did not get this wisdom from the previous generations in your family.
The
thing is, it’s still the honest truth.
The
other thing is that today is the first day of the rest of your life.
If
you only have fifteen spare minutes today, watch this TED talk about this extraordinary
study of The Good Life—
If
you can’t spare fifteen, call a dear friend and make up a time to get together.
The good life is possible as long as you live. Don’t spend another minute
reading this blog, unless, of course, it makes you feel more connected.
That’s
all I ever hoped for, writing it.
13 comments:
Lovely blog, Mirka. A much needed one in this day and age.
I love being connected to you, my dear friend. <3
Mirka, true, true, true on all accounts and I have to say that online friendships are real too. I still take my letter-writing seriously. But nothing beats a lunch date! Wish we lived closer. Vijaya
I so agree. Virtual lunch is not as tasty!
Such good advice well said in this brief post, Mirka!
Glad we could connect online and over the phone! Some day, possibly in person.
Connecting is so important. I love the connections I've made both in person and online.
I'm jealous of his ability to speak (without notes!) And I like the idea of replacing workmates with playmates upon retirement (not that writers ever get to retire...) It's hard work to maintain connections with friends sometimes, but so nice when you do connect, especially after a long absence.
Always a good lesson to remember about what makes a happy life. Tucking that TED talk away for when I have a free 15 minutes.
Amen and amen, Mirka. Very true!
A friend was also telling me something interesting about illness and those who just ignore pain, etc., and attitude seems to be everything in life. Happy = healthier and having friendships always = happy.
Thanks for the link, Mirka. I'm checking out that talk right after this comment. I've been motivated by some of these TED talks, too. Have you watched Shawn Achor's? Hilarious and so effective in making me realize that being happy isn't this route (work hard -> hit goals -> being happy) but something we can attain right now. Is it true? Does it work? Only we get to decide. :)
If you're interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLJsdqxnZb0
Thank you, Claudine. I just watched the link you put here, and it was delightful. As he concluded the talk it occurred to me that all the suggestions the speaker made resemble what the great religions have taught us to do, on the level of action. Again-- the wisdom of the ages, or "what Grandma always said"-- turns out to be a lot closer to the truth than our rebellious modern minds care to admit.
I know! All these things have been said before but somehow I feel like I've only been listening or paying attention properly recently.
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