Citizens of Happiness

March 23, 2005

BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

I was driving home with my wife and daughter while listening to Dr. Arthur Caliandro, the Minister of the Marble Collegiate Church recently one Sunday evening. Rev. Norman Vincent Peel, the author of The Power of Positive Thinking was the former Minister. Dr. Caliandro has been doing a weekly radio show called, Simple Faith for many years on Sunday evenings at 7:00 PM on WOR, AM 710.

Dr. Caliandro's message this particular week was about "happiness." He attributed the positive change and outlook in his life to three people he had met who had made a tremendous difference in the way he now positively views his life. Dr. Robert Muller was one of the three people who positively influenced Dr. Caliandro. He spoke about the time that he went to Dr. Muller's office at the United Nations and the two of them went out to lunch together. He talked about Dr. Muller's book, Most of All They Taught Me Happiness and he mentioned it is now out of print. Dr. Caliandro said that the conversation he had with Dr. Muller that day helped him take a more positive and much happier view of life.

Dr. Muller was a former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations. Dr. Muller's distinguished career at the United Nations has spanned nearly 40 years. During his tenure with the world body, he contributed significantly to the creation of a number of its specialized agencies. He is considered the "father of global education." Dr. Muller has written over twenty books and I am so glad that his book, Most of All They Taught Me Happiness will soon be reprinted. The world needs this book because it contains lessons for all of us to learn and offers benefits to all mankind. I knew that I was reading about a man that understood happiness better than most people did in our time. I learned that at a young age Dr. Muller experienced the horrors of World War II, because the Nazis imprisoned him. This was the case even though he was born in Belgium and was a Catholic. Dr. Robert Muller's web site is www.GoodMorningWorld.org.

Dr. Muller's life experience has helped this minister become a happier individual. Of course Dr. Caliandro has in turn helped thousands of people learn to become more positive and responsible in their lives. Eleven years ago when I co-hosted a live radio talk show on WICC called, Successful Living; I had the good fortune of having Dr. Caliandro as a guest on our show. He was wonderful and has always had a very special place in my heart.

Dr. Arthur Caliandro, and Dr. Robert Muller have made a positive difference in my life. I find it absolutely fascinating and amazing that they have known each other and have had such a positive influence in the world. This speaks very loudly about the fact that we never know how much GOOD the work we do in our life can produce. We must go on doing the good which each of us is called on to do. As Oscar Wilde said so accurately, "When we are happy we are always good, but when we are good we are not always happy." Each of us can create the best environment for ourselves and for others. We can do it by choosing to use our best thinking and decision making skills, and by our responsible actions and behavior, and by the things we are doing every moment of every day to make ourselves happier and more peaceful.

I am so grateful that we have men like this, Citizens of Happiness that are in our lives to show us the way we can choose to travel. I thank Dr. Muller and Dr. Caliandro for their extraordinary work in bringing happiness and peace into our awareness. I know that their work has made a great many people happy and they continue to spread the gift of happiness to humanity. I have personally taken advantage of their gifts and I use them daily, and I am very grateful to both men for sharing it with me.

Whenever I tune into Dr. Caliandro's radio show Simple Faith I am absolutely astounded by the profound talks he delivers on the air. He never stops impressing me with the wonderful authors and people he talks about each week. He brings them into the focus of discussion and I think it is wonderful how he introduces his audience to some very valuable thinkers that are not often being talked about in regular circles. Dr. Caliandro will bring more people to the good life by teaching them to be happy than by trying to make them good. Dr. Caliandro blends his personal experience with illuminating anecdotes and wisdom and inspires people to enhance their relationship with God and the people in their lives with universal stories of hope, faith, and love. Dr. Caliandro is a Christian preacher, an excellent progressive thinker, a passionate human being, and an extraordinary teacher. Dr. Caliandro has written six books, three of which are Make Your Life Count, Simple Steps: Ten Things You Can Do to Create an Exceptional Life, and Lost & Found: 23 Things You Can Do to Find Personal Freedom. He is the senior minister at the Marble Collegiate Church, located at 1 West 29th Street, New York, NY 10001. Their web site is www.marblechurch.org

Our next Happiness Club meeting will be on Thursday, April 14, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. The presentation will be "Spring into Happiness." The meeting will be held at the Sullivan Independence Hall, Fairfield. Admission is free; everyone is welcome. Looking forward to seeing you. Come on down, meet some great people, get connected, and step out with joy in your life!

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.