happiness

I recently interviewed a lovely couple for a story I'm working on. They started dating in high school — she asked him to a Sadie Hawkins dance and he initially said "maybe" — and have been together for almost 60 years.

There has been plenty written in this blog about how money doesn’t secure happiness. Author Peter Walsh suggested asking ourselves “Is buying this getting me any closer to the life I want?” and encouraged us to choose experiences over items. Researcher Christopher Barrington-Leigh talked about how the more materialistic you are, possibly the less happy you are.

A recent story over at Time.com — "Girl, You are So Not Fat! Does 'Fat Talk' Make Anyone Feel Better?" by Meredith Melnick — explores the idea of "fat talk," the "Oh god, these jeans make my thighs look huge" variety of lady exchange that happens everywhere from H&M dressing rooms to 3am cab rides. Apparently, a new study has found that this kind of talk makes women feel worse, not better.

A recent story in the Guardian — "Ideas for modern living: Napping, The art and pleasure of 40 winks" by Simon J. Williams — got me thinking about one of the simplest pleasures in life: an afternoon nap.

There are a lot of people making claims to know the secret to lasting happiness, from Oprah Winfrey and her various gurus to Deepak Chopra. Now, Reuters reports ("Switch off, chip in, be happy, say activists" by Olesya Dmitracova) that a new "global movement for happiness" — Action for Happiness, apparently endorsed by the Dalai Lama and British Psychological Society — is on the scene and has decided to weigh in.