Do you sometimes feel as though it’s a real effort to be happy? So much of the news focuses on daily tragedies that I worry about the fate of humankind. I know that the immediacy of information plays a major role in feeding my concern. The world has always had problems, but the blessing — and curse — of technology is that news doesn’t just travel quickly, it flashes and pings on multiple devices at a warp speed factor of one hundred trillion gazillion. And I’m not helping matters. For Pete’s sake, I have Associated Press alerts popping up on my smart phone with distressing regularity.
It’s time to chill out and get happy. Embracing the positive might sound too New-Agey for some of you; well, I get it. I tend to make a face whenever I hear someone talking about mindfulness over matter, or finding inner peace — that’s the cynic in me.
However, I do know that certain things can improve my mood — music, pets, and, you guessed it, books.
Can reading about happiness make a person happy? I think it’s worth a try especially if a tiger and some owls are involved. But if the reading list below is a little too “kumbayah” for your tastes, I have included Oliver Burkeman’s “The Antidote” which basically gives a nod and a fist bump to the negative and pessimistic thoughts all of us experience from time to time. But, and this is important — and what makes his book a thoughtful read for both chronic malcontents and the “don’t worry, be happy” crowd — being a full-time curmudgeon isn’t the answer.
“The negative path to happiness is not an argument for bloody-minded contrarianism at all costs; you won’t do yourself any favours by walking into the path of oncoming buses, say, rather than trying to avoid them,” Burkeman writes.
Instead, think of a healthy dose of negativity “as a much-needed counterweight to a culture fixated on the notion that optimism and positivity are the only possible paths to happiness.” In other words, it’s OK for me to scoff and scowl at motivational gurus — so long as I balance my cynicism with a trip to the library so I can find the perfect book to read to my cat. At least, that’s how I choose to interpret his message.
Happy reading … or not!
Jan Johnston is the collection development coordinator for the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District. Email her at readingforfun@fvrl.org.
Books to balance the bad
• “The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking” by Oliver Burkeman. See my comments above. You really, truly do not have to embrace the joy to be a happy person. Really.
• “Augustus and His Smile” by Catherine Rayner. Poor Augustus is a sad tiger. Why? He’s lost his smile. Read this sweet picture book to find out what he does to find it, and get ready to feel all happy inside.
• “The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun” by Gretchen Rubin. If you’re not into positive thinking, stick with “The Antidote.” But if you want to know how Gretchen Rubin, a lawyer-turned-author, decided to take her happy life and make it even happier — without losing her mind or her friends — check out her book and whistle a happy tune.
• “The Happy Owls” by Celestino Piatti. Learn how two owls stay happy in this classic picture book. If getting back to nature makes you all right with the world, you might be as wise as these contented owls.
• “The Kindness Diaries: One Man’s Quest to Ignite Goodwill and Transform Lives Around the World” by Leon Logothetis. A lighthearted look at Logothetis’s attempt to leave his fast-paced, materialistic life in Los Angeles behind while learning how to be a good Samaritan to the world.
• “Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World” by Michele Borba. If you have empathy for others, there’s hope for the world. Give humankind a helping hand by preparing our youngest members for a lifetime of understanding and kindness.
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