New Happy

If we all carry a little of the burden, it will be lightened. If we share in the suffering of the world, then some will not have to endure so heavy an affliction. It evens out.

— Dorothy Day in Dorothy Day: Selected Writings by Robert Ellsberg, Dorothy Day

Here is a blessing I wrote for a friend who had lost 100 lbs and was struggling with the change:

A blessing for a friend to offer her body

For the ways you have carried me through every day since I was born, I offer my gratitude.

For the pleasure you have given me, I praise you.

For the pain you have endured for me, I respect you.

For the protection you

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to d

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.

— Nelson Henderson in Songs of Joy by Joan Chittister

Taken together, Jung’s ideas about happiness and his five pillars of well-being stand up solidly to modern research findings. I propose this practical seven-point summary:

1. Do not fall prey to seeking pure happiness. Instead, seek lifelong progress toward happierness.
2. Manage as best you can the main sources of misery in your life by attending to

Kurt Vonnegut, talking about when he tells his wife he’s going out to buy an envelope:

“Oh, she says well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of b