The first week of June I went to a festival in which I handed out 500 flyers about the “Happy Hour” and Happiness 101.  I stood along side the sidewalk and when people passed by, I smiled and enthusiastically announced loud and proud “Happiness??”  The reaction of the people were delightful to watch!  Had I known it was going to be such an amazing experience, I probably would have set it up as a study.  I believe how people reacted were a great indicator of where they were at at that moment and made me wonder if it were an indication of how happy they were in general.  I decided not to offer the flyer to those engrossed in deep conversation.  Some people wore dark clothes and a deep frown before receiving my offer.  Most of the frowners smiled, even if they did not take a flyer.  Many that declined the Happiness flyer (here forward referred to simply as Happiness), smiled broadly back, raised the hand of their loved one and said “No thanks!  Got it right here!”  If you have been listening to the “Happy Hour” classes (week one and week two are now available here on the blog), you know that even the most ideal of partners is merely a Happiness boost, not the “happily ever after”.  Of course, I was not about to dis on their bliss.  I SINCERELY hope they are happy and their partners ARE, indeed, happily ever after.  Many did smile and said they were already truly happy.  Wonderful!  We need more of us out there!  Some, at my surprisingly enthusiastic offer, giggled and simply walked away as if the whole thing were a joke or, perhaps, too good to be true.  At times I felt a twinge of happiness, knowing that the simple flyer I held in my hand was more than a glossy piece of paper with a Happy Face on it, but a first step toward true happiness.  This is the same sadness I feel as a therapist when I reach out a hand to a drowning person who steadfastly refuses help.  I recite the Serenity Prayer quickly in my head and extend my hand to another and it is taken.  Then another.  Then another.  This was another interesting pheomomenon, people accepted and refused Happiness in clumps.  If the first person of, say, a dozen refused the flyer, often the other eleven would follow suit.  But if the first or second person took the flyer, I handed one to the majority of people in the group.  I always enjoyed it when one person in such a group would break rank and be the lone person to accept Happiness.  I had great hope for these mavericks.  Finally, there were those that flatly refused happiness, “No thanks”.  I was left to wonder: do they truly not want Happiness or do they not believe the “product” works or….  have they lost hope.  These individuals I worry about the most.  Henry Ford said “Whether you think you can, or you can’t – you’re right”.  If that logic is sound, if these people believed they were incapable of being Happy, their belief becomes their reality.  If you are such a person, I ask you not to believe that you can be Happy, but at least that you can be HappiER.  PLEASE, listen to the class.  You CAN be happier!

~Frank

For recorded information about the Happiness classes, call 801-262-0317