5 Tips To Keep Happy ... Even In Wartime

By:David Leonhardt

The world is going downhill faster than an Olympic skier. Terrorists lurk around every corner. Climate change will soon melt the tundra and turn Iowa into a desert. Frankenstein foods are flooding the market, cleverly masquerading as innocent potatoes and beets.
And everybody is planning a war.
Sadam wants to unleash unspeakable biological evils. George Bush II wants to unleash unimaginable military might. Germany and France want to just unleash. North Korea ... need I say more? India and Pakistan want to run a nuclear relay race, and worst of all we won't even know who the good guys and bad guys are supposed to be. And I know why my Israeli friend moved back to New Jersey.
Just when we thought it was safe to sit back and take comfort in knowing exactly how bad things are, some fool has to come up with five tips to keep our spirits up in uncertain times. And that fool is me. So here are the tips:
1. Count your blessings. We have so much to be grateful for. Iraq's dime store missiles cannot hit anywhere too important (defined more specifically as "where I live"). Then, of course, there is all the "stuff" we have, like the flush toilet (I would not want to have lived 500 years ago!) and the remote control. We can be grateful for all the variety, such as 32 flavors of ice cream on every corner and at least a dozen flavors of tooth floss. We can count our education, our knowledge and our opportunities. And we have soooo much more freedom than our ancestors. Geez, with all these blessings to count, it gets hard to enjoy living in terror of the big, bad world.
2. Smile at a stranger. If the world shows us a threatening face, why not paint that face with smiles to make it less threatening. Let's face it, if I smile at you, you'll smile back. The more I smile, the more people will smile at me. The more you smile, the more people will smile at you. If everybody follows my advice, at least dentists will be too busy to fear world events.
3. Learn a new skill. Imagine the sense of accomplishment and the power of mastering a new skill. Like mesquite cooking. Like whittling. Like pterodactyl breeding. Oh well, two out of three. And if you learn that skill in a classroom setting, full of other energized new-skill-masterers, you get the bonus of seeing that positive face of the world, complete with smiles and busy dentists.
4. Study history. Bad things happen. Good things happen. That's history. Today will one day be history that somebody reads about. So don't sweat it. (Editor's note: If nobody is left to read about it, scratch this tip.)
5. Volunteer. One of the scariest things about the world today is not just that it seems to be going downhill, but that we feel powerless to stop it. Worse still, politicians and diplomats are in charge. But we CAN take control and send the world uphill right in our own neighborhood. We can help the local animal shelter. We can work at the food bank. (That's my personal favorite, and NO you do NOT get free samples.) We can help little old ladies across the street. We can make a difference right in our own communities where the politicians and diplomats won't interrupt.
Sorry about those five tips. If you wish to ignore them and return to the regularly-scheduled misery-wallowing, please go ahead. After all, in wartime nobody really wants to be happy, do they?

About the Author

David Leonhardt is the Happy Guy, even in wartime (he hopes!) and author of "Climb your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness". Sign up for your free "Daily Dose of Happiness" at http://www.TheHappyGuy.com/daily-happiness-free-ezine.html, or visit the Self-actualization Resource Center at http://www.TheHappyGuy.com/self-actualization-articles.html.

Digg del.icio.us Blink Stumble Spurl Reddit Netscape Furl

Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Top Politics Articles
1). Apologize for what? By : Terry Dashner Apologize for What…Terry Dashner………………………Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586 Broken Arrow, OK 74013Why should we apologize for being A
2). School Prayer, Right Or Wrong By : David G. Hallstrom, Sr. In the Bill Of Rights, the First Amendment to the Constitution, titled "Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression" states the following: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
3). Six Thought Provoking Questions By : Steve Gillman Thought provoking questions usually put forth a certain viewpoint, if only because they inherently challenge the accepted one. However, they don't require you to agree with that viewpoint, and a question is just a question. We'll each have different answers to the following, despite their provocative intent. Thought Provoking Questions - Politics 1.
4). The problem with "Fad" diets By : Paul Duxbury Fad diets are well known about their promise of bringing some instant weight loss. First of all you should pay your doctor a visit before starting an
5). The Rising Risk of a Terrorist Attack - Could It Happen Today? By : Paulo You’ve read about it, you’ve seen it: terrorist attacks on trains, in nightclubs and the worst terrorist attack in U.S history on September 11th in New York City. But will the next terrorist attack strike even closer to home – your own hospital’s emergency room. Dr. Paulo J. Reyes, a First Responder in California, ER Doctor, and author of the fiction thriller, Sledgehammer fears there exists a clear and present danger today and has written a book on the possibilities of a biochemical attack with smallpox.
6). Is the Media Blocking the Message of American’s who Don’t Support Israel? By : Murad Ali The strong U.S. support for Israel is daunting to most Muslims. A poll conducted by the LA Times indicates that in the recent assault of Israel against the Lebanese that 43% of Americans believe the attack was justified and not harsh in its treatment of the Lebanese people (Wallsten & Ghlert, 2006). Yet the study also showed that 44% of Americans feel that the war was either not justified or that the Israeli response was excessive.
7). Katrina and the Amazon Drought By : Eduardo Reisinho The Katrina hurricane, the Central America tropical storms and their lethal effects, the intense drought in the Amazon basin with abnormal and not entirely known consequences... The gods of nature seem angry with the Americans. America is under pressure.
8). Love Prisons (from Prison Series) By : Ed Howes The American criminal justice system is not appropriately named because it meets justice to criminals. It is appropriately named because the justice
9). Obit. By : The Indy Voice A popular political party that rose to tremendous power in the 20th century, the Republican party redefined the nation's political agenda and dramatic
10). Feeling Squeezed by Political Correctness By : Terry Mitchell I'm starting to feel squeezed by all the political correctness being imposed on us by both the Left and the Right. Both sides are constantly trying to

New Politics Articles
1). Equal Rights Includes Homosexuals By : Tom Baker Massachusets is considering a Contsitutional Amendment to ban gay marriage. This is another attempt to legalize discrimination under the thin guise of "democracy."
2). How to Master the Art of Influence – Washington Style By : Harrison Monarth Copyright 2006 Harrison Monarth Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Representative of the People of the 1st District of Rhode Island, proved his mastery of influence with the use of a powerful influence strategy just this weekend, after crashing his car into a guard rail near the Capitol building in the very early morning hours. The influencing strategy Patrick Kennedy employed is called "Self-Disclosure".
3). Boots on the Moon - Lunacy Run Amuck By : John Woolf Why would we spend an estimated $104 billion (that's billion with a 'B') to go back to a dead world when ours is dying? It seems no one can come up with a compelling reason for NASA to repeat the "been there- done that" Apollo project of the 60's and 70's that President Bush has envisioned. In fact, we have been told by NASA to think of this as "Apollo on steroids.
4). Neo-Containment for a Nuclear Iran By : Jason Vines As anyone who has opened a newspaper or watched the news over the past few years knows, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been pursuing nuclear capability. Iran’s government insists its only goal is to develop nuclear power plants that would not threaten anyone. The United Nations, though, is concerned Iran might instead covet nuclear weapons. The United States is convinced that is the case.
5). The Sales Boom in Diesel Motorhomes Defies the Economic Forecasts By : David C Skul Thor Industries Chief Executive Wade Thompson, whose business is the globe's largest allocator of diesel pusher motor coaches and travel trailers, is looking forward to the holiday ramble industry's overall product shipments to ascend in 2005 for the fourth straight yearly performance period. Thompson and chief executives of three rivals pronounced they are projecting to quest after extra product delivery staff and originate industrial facilities to deal with rising demand.
6). Solving the Immigration Problem: By : Charles Read Nothing President Bush said last night (5/15/06) will have any real impact on illegal immigration. I hate to criticize the President but that’s my professional opinion. I have several payroll companies that prepare payroll for businesses around the country. Immigration, legal and illegal, is driven by the opportunities offered in this country. Those opportunities exist because we have the “Three Rules of Wealth” as I use to call them when I taught High School.
7). Intellectual Property - Engaging with China By : Paul Ward China is well entrenched in the global marketplace, but with Chinese piracy reported at 90 percent, it's the third least friendly country for protecting intellectual property (IP). China's accession into the World Trade Organization started four years ago. With this commitment to regulatory and economic restructuring, China has indeed been a country of economic opportunity for multinational corporations.
8). The Great Debate By : Triston Huntsmin If you are anything like me, the smallest decisions can quickly become material for the greatest debates of your life. You can turn the tiniest molehill of an issue into a huge mountain of a decision just by sitting down and analyzing too much. Sound familiar? Have you ever gotten weighed down in trying to make small decisions of little consequence and had trouble keeping perspective? I definitely have.
9). Iran Builds Support Among Muslim Nations By : Murad Ali The U.S./Israel coalitions have been at odds with the Iranian government over Iran’s nuclear program. Diplomatic efforts have soured over the U.S. Israeli belief that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran contends that the nuclear program is to make energy and resents any interference from countries deemed hostile to their cause. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad states that he is willing to talk about the program to anyone except Israel who has keeps “bombs over our head”.
10). Simple Solutions to Global Problems? – Tai Chi & Qigong By : Bill Douglas Copyright 2006 Bill Douglas According to modern medical research between 70 and 85% of all illness leading people to doctors is caused by stress (Kaiser Permenente twenty year study). The United States annual health care costs exceed one-trillion dollars each year. This means that effective stress management techniques, if provided to people en masse through education, business, healthcare, etc.