Inherently Happy

Gradually Happy - Ep. 395

Sudden attraction can prove a distraction,
And get you more thorns than flowers,
While a gradual reaction can gain you some traction,
And let you develop your powers.

 

[entire script below]

Ep. 395 - Gradually Happy

We begin as always 
with the Happy Creed.

We believe in Happy, 
in Balance and Growth, 
of being Mindful and Grateful,
Compassionate and Understanding.

Yowza
Haha
My Happy Friends!

Sometimes you can see without feeling,
You’ll notice a sunset, a rainbow, or a flower,
But it doesn’t make you jump up and hit the ceiling, 
‘Cause you’re just trying to get home before rush hour.

Some other time you’ll catch a glimpse of a poster for a movie you’ve never seen,
And without context it doesn’t really register as something you’d even want to see,
But then your friend tells you they think you’d find it really peachy keen,
And so you watch it, you love it, and now that same poster is as lovely as can be.

You can also be this way with human beings,
At first, everyone may seem like extras in the movie that is your life,
But then as you get to know them through multiple seeings,
You may begin to feel something about them, could be joy, could be strife.

You might meet an attractive person who is simply hateful, 
Or a person you initially barely register, but who turns out to be a delight,
And this can make you value deeper connections, and be grateful, 
And maybe not judge so quickly before you know what’s right.

I myself can look at something beautiful and not immediately care, 
While at the same time clinging to something tattered and torn,
It’s not to say I can’t grow to love something pretty if I find more there, 
Or that I’ve only ever liked ratty things since the day I was born.

I just don’t really do the “love at first sight” thing anymore,
I don’t get infatuated from a glance or a nice smile,
I have been burned by that way too many times before,
Where spending time with them made me feel like I was on trial.

So, now I take my time to connect before I attempt any form of attraction,
I can still appreciate sunsets, rainbows and flowers,
I just don’t let dreams of a pot of gold become a distraction
From my journey to becoming Gradually Happy, and fully engaging with my Happy powers.

Haha
Yowza

Happy Mindset - Ep. 394

If no matter how bad you want something you never get it, you’ll hate the endless yearning, 
But with a Happy Mindset, you’ll realize that the opposite of Winning isn’t Losing, it’s Learning.

[full script below]

Ep. 394 - Happy Mindset

We begin as always 
with the Happy Creed.

We believe in Happy, 
in Balance and Growth, 
of being Mindful and Grateful,
Compassionate and Understanding.

Yowza
Haha
My Happy Friends!

I’ve known smart, attractive, rich, and talented people who still hated their lives quite a lot,
Because they were stuck in the past, or in a shame spiral, or hung up on guilt and regret,
They could never be grateful, only ever seeing all the things they hadn’t quite got,
They never saw opportunities, only obstacles, for everything to them was a threat.

I mean, I know, sometimes it feels like the world is doing everything it can to make life tough,
No matter how bad you want something, you never get it--so, what’s the point of yearning?
Well, that all depends on your Mindset, really. A Mean one will make you Mean, sure enough,
But a Happy Mindset knows that the opposite of Winning isn’t Losing, it’s Learning.

Trying the same thing over and over only leads to progress if you learn along the way,
And Progress is just another way of saying Winning by a matter of degrees,
You may not win first place every time, but you can still gain strength and skill every day,
And that’s how you can keep your spirits up when everyone else has a feeling of unease.

I got punched in the face once by a very angry man who I was only trying to assist,
He couldn’t see that, though, he could only perceive all the things he felt he was missing,
So, ignoring all the good things around us, he just cursed, kicked the air and balled up his fist, 
And then when I didn’t back down, pretty soon it was the ground I was kissing.

But did I cry or wonder why the world had been so cruel? Did I weep or wail?
Not at all, I just got back up and watched him get hauled off by the cops.
He sucker punched me, which is pretty dirty, but he went to jail,
And I learned that not everyone wants my help and would just rather bust me in the chops.

The outcome of any situation, therefore, should not be one’s sole motivating factor, 
Because then you’ll miss the journey, the wisdom, the lesson and the hope, 
You’ll just condemn yourself to having meltdowns like a leaky nuclear reactor,
Where even the slightest frustration makes you think you’ve lost and therefore can’t cope.

Now I get sad, sure, I get mad too, I’m a person, but I know those feelings are fleeting,
Because I always aim to maintain my Happy Mindset even if it takes a few tries,
Not everything works the first time you do it, but it’ll never work if you keep retreating,
So, just keep at it, keep trying for improvement because isn’t that the real prize?

Haha
Yowza

 

Artfully Happy - Ep. 393

Our human lives contain both joy and bereavement,
Through it all we have Art, a crowning achievement,
Art is for communicating the Human Condition,
Thereby elevating it, a most valuable mission.

[full script below]

Ep. 393 - Artfully Happy

We begin as always 
with the Happy Creed.

We believe in Happy, 
in Balance and Growth, 
of being Mindful and Grateful,
Compassionate and Understanding.

Yowza
Haha
My Happy Friends!

Our human lives contain both joy and bereavement,
Through it all we have Art, a crowning achievement,
Art is for communicating the Human Condition,
Thereby elevating it, a most valuable mission.

Art is a way of interacting with reality, one that asks “How?”
Just like Science asks “What?” and Philosophy asks “Why?”
Art is a way of accessing Happy in the here and now,
Which you can then revisit or share with others by and by.

Art, along with Science and Philosophy, is one of the Three Great Considerations of humankind,
Because asking “How?” makes us think about quality and skill,
About form and content, and depth of heart and mind,
And helps us express our Happy creative Will.

Art is a way of interacting with the world and the people in it,
It can help us form connections and stimulate our souls,
It can happen over the course of a lifetime or in less than a minute, 
It can be about things experienced in passing or passionate life goals.

It is craft, it is feeling, it is life, it is history,
It helps us make some sense of the Great Mystery,
It delves deep and shows us that we are not alone,
Because being Artfully Happy goes straight to the bone.

Haha
Yowza

Divinely Happy - Ep. 392

We seek to solve the mystery of our Life Sentence--is there a cause at the end of the line?
Will we find paradise, doom or is it all just an endless merry-go-round operated by the Divine?

 

[entire script below]

Ep. 392 - Divinely Happy

We begin as always 
with the Happy Creed.

We believe in Happy, 
in Balance and Growth, 
of being Mindful and Grateful,
Compassionate and Understanding.

Yowza
Haha
My Happy Friends!

Humans live with the knowledge of our own impending death,
From even before we’re born, the terminal countdown begins,
As we only have a limited time before we’ll draw our final breath,
In a race we all must run, but one that nobody ever wins.

And so we cling to beliefs that afford us some peace along the way,
We try to catch a glimpse of the divine to get some clue as to what’s out there,
We meditate, vision quest, lucid dream, we hope, we wish, we pray,
All to solve the mystery of our Life Sentence--are we doomed or does somebody actually care?

If we ask for answers, will we get them? Or is it far beyond what’s even possible to know?
And if we feel changed by the pursuit, is that merely from our efforts or something more?
We just want to discover the cause, so that when we seek a certain effect, it’ll actually show,
Then maybe we’ll feel like we understand something, and get a hint at what’s in store.

When we go past this living organism phase--do we carry on, transform, or just end?
I grew up down the street from a cemetery where several generations of my family are buried,
I used to fear it after dark until I discovered that my bullies feared it more--’twas a godsend!
Then I spent many nights among the dead trying to commune, but the results never varied,

Answers came there none. 
Ghostly friendships, not a one, 
I tried as hard as any late night divinity seeker could--not one to be outdone,
But my ancestors and their grave neighbors remained silent and decidedly un-fun.

I was there on moonlit nights when the fallen snow made it bright in all directions,
I was there on gloomy nights too, when I had to feel me way around,
At the very least I found it peaceful there, even if I made no direct divine connections,
It was still less hectic than my own world beyond that tranquil ground.

Nowadays when I see people who claim to have a direct link to the divine, I wonder,
What am I doing differently? I try to be helpful, I try to be patient, I try to be kind,
I sometimes have to cut off contact with toxic people who try to pull me under,
But still I offer words of encouragement through my work, a product of my heart and my mind.

And this work isn’t meant to replace faith, of course, it’s more of a bridge from here to there.
For those who have nothing, it can be a framework at the very least, something to cling to,
And for those who already have a belief system, it can still act as mental health care.
Humans are obsessed with the unknown, we’re Divinely Happy in everything we do.

I’m no different, I want to know what’s out there just like everybody else does,
And I’ll keep looking for clues just like the Detective of Divinity I am and always will be,
And in the meantime, I’ll also try to focus on being Happy just because
Being Happy is better than focusing on bitterness and hate, this I know, believe you me.

Haha
Yowza

 

 

Happy Empowerment - Ep. 391

Providing encouragment and support to others feels Nice, 
And so you provide empowerment not once but twice.

 

[entire script below]

Ep. 391 - Happy Empowerment

We begin as always 
with the Happy Creed.

We believe in Happy, 
in Balance and Growth, 
of being Mindful and Grateful,
Compassionate and Understanding.

Yowza
Haha
My Happy Friends!

There’s two kinds of empowerment upon which I shall report,
Those you give others, and those you give yourself, being the two I shall name,
The kind you give others contains encouragement and support, 
While the kind you give to yourself contains exactly the same.

I am always trying to streamline complicated processes that frustrate and irk,
I don’t break the rules, I just try to find loopholes where people seldom look,
And as a result I often come up with new ways of solving problems at work,
And then I write down those protocols so I can train others with my little guidebook.

But I often find that others would rather that I continue to do those tasks still,
And they don’t even bother reading my directions even when I add a cartoon,
Turns out they don’t want to be empowered to do some things and never will,
So, I seek my own empowerment elsewhere to find an escape that can’t come too soon.

So, I write, and I draw--and I sing and dance too but that’s just for fun,
I do these works to empower myself, to encourage and someday support, hopefully, too,
And I share them because if they can encourage this human I know I can’t be the only one,
And going by the encouraging feedback, that which empowers me also empowers you!

Happy Empowerment is that supportive encouragement that helps me and you cope,
“If this guy can do it, then I should be able to as well,” is what you may well say,
I don’t have my ideal career, freedoms or family life and yet I still allow myself to hope,
And I share that hope with others through art and the Inherently Happy Way.

And sharing can be its own form of empowerment--it feels Nice,
So, I encourage you to utilize the same methods that I myself employ,
Namely to be empowering not once but twice,
First by giving encouragement and support to others and in so doing increasing your own joy.

Haha
Yowza

 

Happy Assumptions - Ep. 390

Assumptions save time, but at what cost?
Check them with reality or you might get lost.

[entire episode script below]

 

Ep. 390 - Happy Assumptions

We begin as always 
with the Happy Creed.

We believe in Happy, 
in Balance and Growth, 
of being Mindful and Grateful,
Compassionate and Understanding.

Yowza
Haha
My Happy Friends!

You ever assume things? ‘Course you do, we all do.
We assume big things like that tomorrow will arrive as expected,
And small things like a rubber ball will bounce back to you,
And even medium things like mistakes will repeat if left uncorrected.

I once assumed a driver who cut me off on the road had it in for me,
So I raced up beside him and threw him a glare,
Only to realize that he was in his own world on the phone and did not see,
Didn’t care, wasn’t being mean because he was completely unaware.

My assumption met reality and my assumption failed,
I had built something up that existed entirely within my own mind,
Oh, how spectacularly wrong I was, I wailed,
How quickly I felt justified in becoming monumentally unkind!

I thought it was my right, nay, my obligation to fix that guy’s wagon, 
When he was already having a hard time of it and so I immediately felt bad, 
Was I the bully? Oh, no! That mustn’t be! I didn’t want to be a fire breathing dragon!
Laying waste to the countryside because someone made me slightly mad.

So, I slowed my roll, 
calmed myself down, 
regained control, 
and unclenched my frown.

I thought of all the things we assume that may not be helpful at all,
Assuming all plants are safe to eat, for instance, is not the best way to go,
But also assuming that some activities are no fun when they could be a ball,
You have to try new things to know for sure, but you can be careful even so.

I’ve assumed that bullies were all out to get me, but they were making assumptions too,
They thought I was a threat to what they considered cool and so wanted to mock me,
But if they got to know me, some of them actually quite liked me--a friendly breakthrough!
Where they saw that reality wasn’t quite as bad as they had assumed--and that’s the key!

Having assumptions is a handy shortcut for a lot of things--water is wet, fire is hot,
But we still have to test those assumptions against reality to make sure we’re staying on track,
Otherwise we may discover truths that are exactly the opposite of what we thought,
And instead of moving forward we find ourselves lost and having to go all the way back.

Haha
Yowza

 

Happy Worth - Ep. 389

Facts or Values, which do you consider the more important of the two?
Do you hold in higher regard objective truths, or subjective moral codes?
Do you consider logic to be the only worthy standard for all you think, say and do?
Or are ethical considerations more effective in the prevention of behavior that erodes?

 

[full episode script below]

Ep. 389 - Happy Worth

We begin as always 
with the Happy Creed.

We believe in Happy, 
in Balance and Growth, 
of being Mindful and Grateful,
Compassionate and Understanding.

Yowza
Haha
My Happy Friends!

Facts or Values, which do you consider the more important of the two?
Do you hold in higher regard objective truths, or subjective moral codes?
Do you consider logic to be the only worthy standard for all you think, say and do?
Or are ethical considerations more effective in the prevention of behavior that erodes?

My dad was a very logical man. He did his crossword puzzles in ink and never got them wrong,
But he was also a church-going man and felt that faith was needed to establish rules of conduct,
He was also a very angry man whose own behavior was often as disruptive as the day is long, 
Someone who used his faith to wash away his guilt so that he wouldn’t self-destruct.

But he never changed his attitude, he stayed Mean, and just prayed a little on the weekend,
I never thought morality should be something you keep resetting week after week,
It should be a guiding principle that stays with you and supports you like a very good friend, 
Not something that rinses the crud off you just so you can wallow in it once more, so to speak.

I think it’s possible to consider both the head and the heart when you make a decision,
It doesn’t have to be either/or, you can take both evidence, and your beliefs into account,
In fact, that might be the ideal scenario, as opposed to an angry or violent collision,
Resulting in a host of problems not even the world’s greatest negotiator could surmount.

Your Happy Worth depends on the Balance and Growth you’re able to achieve,
Not the fights, not the destruction, not the strife, not the havoc you can wreak,
But the gratitude you can maintain and the compassionate outlook in which you believe,
For it is those Facts And Values that will help you find the peaceful passion that you seek.

Haha
Yowza

Happy Fairness - Ep. 388

Happy Fairness means being impartial, respectful, true and just, 
It means treating people with the humanity that they’ve earned,
Throwing in some decency, tolerance and integrity is, for many, a must,
As well as any civil and rational behaviors previously learned.

Recomended Episode:

Ep. 226 - Fair Happy

 

[full episode script below]

 

Ep. 388 - Happy Fairness

We begin as always 
with the Happy Creed.

We believe in Happy, 
in Balance and Growth, 
of being Mindful and Grateful,
Compassionate and Understanding.

Yowza
Haha
My Happy Friends!

Happy Fairness means being impartial, respectful, true and just, 
It means treating people with the humanity that they’ve earned,
Throwing in some decency, tolerance and integrity is, for many, a must,
As well as any civil and rational behaviors previously learned.

I have a very strong sense of fairness, due to the all unfairness that I’ve seen,
And not just to me, but when other people are treated unfairly too,
I know how awful it feels to suffer injustice, and I hate it when anyone’s Mean, 
But I especially hate it when friends betray friends, that’s something you just don’t do.

I’ve had a few pals, a few cronies, a few chums, who absolutely stabbed me in the back,
Without a second thought either, just took something they wanted and to heck with me,
A potential romance, a job opportunity, a privilege I was due--just an absolute bushwhack,
Almost with a maniacal glee to see me suffer thus proving they were never Family.

It’s heartbreaking--after I was so sure I could trust their loyalty,
The one thing I could count on--I  thought I at least had that,
Then realizing I never really knew them at all--seeing what villains they could be,
And then I started worrying that every friendship would end in psychological combat.

But there is still fairness to be found in the world, and that fairness can begin with you, 
Don’t let them corrupt you with their bitter selfishness, like someone corrupted them,
This doesn’t mean to just let people walk all over you, no, you deserve respect too,
As long as you earn it, it’s not an automatic thing, that’s unfair, and that would be mayhem.

But disrespect shouldn’t be automatic either, so don’t pick fights just because you expect fights, 
Odd as it sounds, but bullies are people too--they want Balance and Growth and all that stuff,
They attack others to avoid winding up in someone else’s sights,
But if you uphold Happy Fairness then you’ll show others that enough’s enough.

In my younger school days I was bullied by groups of kids, but not if I could get them alone,
Then they actually talked to me and were even Nice, though I knew it wouldn’t last,
They didn’t want to get targeted for not going along, they couldn’t handle being on their own,
In college I even did Nice things for my bullies--you wouldn’t believe the goodwill that amassed.

Sure, I wished they would all get boils up their rears and worms in their ears, 
But I never actually did anything to them, I just maintained my own sense of fair play, 
So when others tried to target them, I stood up for them even against my peers,
And converted many bullies into friends, staying true to myself and the Inherently Happy Way.

Haha
Yowza

 

Happy Courage - Ep. 387

Trying new things can be scary at first, 
You may feel uneasy and start thinking the worst, 
But if you can keep on going for just a little bit longer,
You may just find that your confidence gets a whole lot stronger.

[entire episode script below]

Ep. 387 - Happy Courage

We begin as always 
with the Happy Creed.

We believe in Happy, 
in Balance and Growth, 
of being Mindful and Grateful,
Compassionate and Understanding.

Yowza
Haha
My Happy Friends!

Trying new things can be scary at first, 
You may feel uneasy and start thinking the worst, 
But if you can keep on going for just a little bit longer,
You may just find that your confidence gets a whole lot stronger.

Because part of the fear comes from the unknown,
And from the uncertainty that can become overblown,
But as you get familiar with the situation at hand, 
Your outlook improves as you begin to understand.

You then start to notice things you didn’t notice before, 
Opportunities to advance and raise your overall score, 
Expectations you can manage and allies you can make,
Challenges you can handle and chances you can take.

Happy Courage isn’t a total lack of anxiety or worry or fear,
It’s, instead, your refusal to cower or shrink when those things may appear,
You don’t need to avoid nervousness in order to act, 
Happy Courage means you keep going even if you feel like you’re being attacked.

Many’s the time when I was an absolute bundle of nerves,
But that often juiced up my flagging energy reserves,
I’ve asked girls to dance, and spoken on stage,
I’ve defended myself in a fight against someone in an absolute rage.

You don’t need to hide from the world just because it’s a tad frightening,
That’s as silly as hiding underwater to avoid bolts of lightning,
But instead you should learn to face up to challenges both old and new,
Because Happy Courage is you being your most courageous you!

Haha
Yowza

Happy Still - Ep. 386

If you get so mad that you want to explode, 
Then you’ll always find reasons to overload, 
You’ll keep chasing the high of that pressure release,
Declaring war every time you really want peace.

 

[entire episode script below]

Ep. 386 - Happy Still

We begin as always 
with the Happy Creed.

We believe in Happy, 
in Balance and Growth, 
of being Mindful and Grateful,
Compassionate and Understanding.

Yowza
Haha
My Happy Friends!

If you get so mad that you want to explode, 
Then you’ll always find reasons to overload, 
You’ll keep chasing the high of that pressure release,
Declaring war every time you really want peace.

You’ll create new problems, instead of achieving your goals,
Increasing your emptiness with all those self-made holes,
But if you stop trying to destroy, and try to connect,
Then there’ll be no need to fix, heal, save or resurrect.

Now I know the attraction of a bout of righteous wrath, 
But it can lead you headlong down a sick and woeful path,
Where everything is loud and mean and you have to fight your way through,
Because you’re trapped in a battle, when, really, the enemy is you.

And the time to stop the skirmish is not when your smack in the middle, 
But before you even get started if you’d just prepare yourself a little,
Because you shouldn’t be so surprised if you tend to blow your top, 
When it happens yet again after you hoped that it would stop.

You can’t just wing it, you actually have to prepare to keep your cool, 
Plan ahead for any possible triggers, and practice not acting like a fool, 
Allow yourself to take your time, don’t let the process itself make you mad, 
Or you’ve defeated the whole purpose, and let your goodwill go bad.

But you have to realize for yourself that a short-lived burst of rage isn’t worth your dreams,
That the power you feel for only a moment isn’t quite as triumphant as it seems, 
Because it erodes your sense of balance, your sense of growth, your peace of mind,
And that can make you bitter, cranky, argumentative, and extremely unkind.

And, like I say, I know all about it, I’ve yelled and I’ve raged,
I acted like a wild animal who deserved to be caged,
I’ve thought to myself, “well, maybe this is just me,”
But I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t have to be!”

You can choose your own behavior, your own thoughts, your own traits, 
You don’t need all that anger to be one of the greats,
You can find power in the calmness, the control and the Will, 
And see that through it all you can be Happy Still.

Haha
Yowza