The human being is subject to a variety of emotions. If everyone went around all day and night in a continual state of happiness then it would indeed be a strange world. It is natural to feel and express the whole gamut of emotions. That is what life is all about.
Can you imagine visiting a sick friend in hospital and you appear beside the bed with a big smile.
“Good to see Wilma,” you say.
“Nice to see you Barbara,” she replies.” Actually I need a friend’s shoulder to cry on. I’ve just been informed that my cancer has relapsed and I have been been given two months to live.”
Now if you were in a continual state of happiness you would continue to smile. No doubt you would be remembered at her funeral as the only person who sat through the whole service with a big grin on your face. You would have caused much anxiety amongst the relatives. They probably thought you were the sole beneficiary. If the person was in great pain for quite some time and death came as a relief perhaps you could be happy that the suffering was at an end. I on the other hand am never happy at funerals regardless of circumstances. I feel sorrow at funerals, an emotion that I am glad I can express.
Weddings are a time when it is perfectly natural to feel happiness. Actually when you think about it probably the whole gamut of emotions takes place that day. The bride herself probably feels nervous. The mother probably feels sad her daughter is leaving home. The father probably feels glad she is finally leaving home but is worried about the cost of the wedding. The bridegroom is probably wondering if his bride will appear. Amongst the congregation you would have happiness mingled with tears. Such are weddings. I am always happy at weddings to think that some fellow is brave enough to embark on the sea of matrimony with probably a bank account that can only afford a dingy.
The opposite to happiness is sadness. Some would say it is sad world . For those people their negative thoughts may never give them reason for happiness. If you try to raise a smile on their face your best efforts may only produce a slight grin for about five seconds before the sorrowful look reappears. It is all so depressing talking to these people. Their depression hits you like a rain of hailstones. Each hailstone having an impact on you until you are feeling depressed yourself. I am afraid that if I meet a person who is depressed the best I can do is talk to them and try to convince them to seek help before serious depression sets in.
I would like to think I fit in with the majority of people who can express the whole range of emotions at the appropriate times. Sometimes I am sad but most times I am happy. I have a roof over my head, a ” loaf of bread ” to eat every day , a ” jug of wine ” sometimes when the urge to get drunk overrides commonsense and a “thou.” I would like to think that the “thou” is the sole reason for my happiness but sometimes I find happiness is simply having a full stomach and finishing off a bottle of fine wine.
