Fear or Freedom?

February 26, 2003

BE HAPPY ZONE

By Lionel Ketchian

I want to tell you about some wonderful things that are going on. Yes, there are things that are happening that we are not pleased about, but that will always happen throughout your life and mine as well. You're never going to be happy if you don't want to have any problems in life. It is not about having problems, it is about finding the best ways to deal with your problems.

The really good news is that more people than ever before are finding out about the benefits of happiness. I am getting more mail than I have ever received from people that are making happiness a very real part of their lives. This mail has been coming from some very exceptional people that are practicing happiness and it's working!

The other day I received a note from Mickey Constantinou. Mickey is a stutterer in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and he is working on forming a strong stuttering support group in his area. He told me that his presentation at a recent meeting on Fear and Freedom was well received. In the presentation, he referenced our Happiness Club organization because of the research he did for his presentation and shared some of my thoughts on fear and happiness during the presentation.

Mickey has been asked to produce a short video of his presentation for use at the upcoming National Stuttering Association conference in July as well as other local events in Tampa Bay. He has a local production company that is handling the production for him and things are moving along well. He will be referencing the articles from this column and from other information on our happinessclub.com web site as research to utilize for his presentation. Mickey says that in the presentation he mentions one of my thoughts that, "The Opposite of Happiness is Fear, not unhappiness because unhappiness is the EFFECT of something." He says that he found this philosophy to be very true for stutters.

I think it is wonderful that our work on happiness is reaching so many people. The next great jump for humanity will be in the field of happiness, well being and emotional management. Let's face it folks we have everything else in the world. When are we going to experience the real deal? Happiness is the real deal. When are you going to start using the benefits of happiness? If not now…when? If not here…where? If not you…who? If not…why not? The time has come, this is the place, and you're the person.

More books have been published on happiness in the last five years than any other time in our history. The course is set for this new explosive direction. One good reason for that is the fact that we can find our power within ourselves. We look outside of us and hope for help. What we really need to do is look inside ourselves and learn to cope. To learn to do the best you can in this very moment. By using happiness you exercise your power to make the best choices by enabling yourself to see the best choices available to you. Happiness awakens you to the possibilities.

By learning all you can about happiness and it's befits to you and everyone else, you take control of your life by managing it. Unhappiness is helplessness and allowing yourself to become a victim. This is a devastating way to choose to live your life. Today I received a letter from a woman named Sandra who agreed with some of the happiness thoughts on our web site. Sandra has learned that being happy is the best way to live her life. She sent me the following message: "Thanks for existing." I think that is one of the most wonderful messages I have every heard.

One of the best quotes I have ever heard on happiness is by William George Jordan. He wrote: "Happiness can grow in any soil, live in any condition. It defies environment. It comes from within; it's the revelation of the depths of the inner life as light and heat proclaim the sun from which they radiate. Happiness consists not of having, but of being; not of possessing, but of enjoying. It is the warm glow of a heart at peace with it's self... Happiness is the soul's joy in the possession of the intangible... Happiness is paradoxical because it may coexist with trial, sorrow and poverty. It is the gladness of the heart, rising superior to all conditions..."

If you are not getting our complimentary Happ-E-Newsletter twice a month, than you are truly missing something good. Just send an e-mail to PrintLRK@aol.com and write newsletter in the subject section. The good news is that we are getting our happiness points across loud and clear, and we are happy about it.

Our next Happiness Club meeting will be held on March 20, from 7:00-8:45 p.m. The topic is "EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT ANGER" by Lionel Ketchian and Alice Katz who is the author of the book, It's Not Personal! A Guide to Anger Management. We will have a panel discussion and present: The principals of anger merit and management. Don't abuse anger, learn to use anger. We will entertain comments and questions from the group. The meeting will be held at the Fairfield Public Library, located at 1080 Old Post Road, in the Rotary Room. There is no charge for the meeting or the happiness you will find.

As Walt Whitman said: "Afoot and lighthearted, I take to the open road; healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me, leading wherever I choose. Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing"

Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club, a Happiness Coach, and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The Web site is www.HappinessClub.com.