Happiness Club Friends

July 7, 2004

BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

What can I possibly tell you about being happy that I have not said? Actually I feel as if I have not even begun to tell you all the benefits that happiness can offer. It probably does not do much good telling you what you can do to be happy. It may be more beneficial to let you know what it has done for me.

As you may know I made the Happiness Decision about 13 years ago. It has been the best thing I have ever done. The happiness I have been in touch with has done me a world of good. It has also done a great deal of good for the people in my life as well. It seems to be a gift I have benefited from. The more I use happiness, the more benefit I get from happiness, and the more good happiness does for other people.

In January 2000, we had our first Happiness Club meeting. It was a cold snowy evening and over 20 people attended our meeting. Since then we continue to hold monthly meetings in Fairfield. We have also expanded to San Francisco, CA. We have spread to Richmond, VA and to Niagara Falls in Canada.

The really special thing about my experience with the Happiness Club is the people I have gotten to know and appreciate. I have met the world's greatest people. One of the very first people associated with the Happiness Club is Joanne Petitti. She took my class on Happiness at Sacred Heart University in 1999. At the end of the fourth week, when the class was to end, Joanne expressed her opinion that our class should continue. She felt that we had learned so much about happiness that it would be a good idea to continue having meetings. So the Happiness Club came into existence because of her foresight.

This weekend, Joanne is getting married. I would like to wish both Joanne and Peter our very best always, and happiness continuously! As I think about the lives of the people I have gotten to know it makes me feel blessed that I have been involved in their lives. In fact many people have gotten to know each other well and developed lasting friendships as a result of attending Happiness Club Meetings.

It is only natural that happiness breeds friendliness. It is the most natural thing in the world. Happy people are friendly people. We have some of the friendliest people in the world at our meetings. They have the biggest smiles I have ever seen. The greatest thing about the people who come to our meetings is the fact that they are genuine. They are real people. They are people who have problems just like you and me, and they are learning not to allow their problems to define themselves. They are learning not to let their problems lead them to a never-ending unhappy state of mind.

Happiness Club members have made a decision to be happy. They choose happiness in every thing they do. They don't mess around with things they cannot change. I can think of a great many members that have lost their loved ones. They come to the meeting and share their happiness with others. You would never know that they have lost anything. They continue to love the people they have lost. They have not given up their choice to be happy with the life they now have to live. They live it with dignity and an empowered attitude that is uplifting to all of us.

I did not create the Happiness Club. I did not create happiness; I just learned to use it in my life. One cannot create happiness; one can only become it. I am seeing so many people now using it. They are changing their life by using happiness. They are learning to benefit from being happy. They are positively affecting their children and their loved ones by being happy. They don't lecture about happiness to anyone; they show their happiness to them.

We have a meeting once a month for you. Come on down to a meeting soon and show us your happiness. We would like to meet you and welcome you to one of our meetings. If you rather tell us about yourself, send me a note. I am finding out so much about many of you, and it is an incredible connection. Thank you for everything you have given me in your words, thoughts, feelings, and contacts. It has meant a great deal to me. It has been the greatest experiences of my life to meet friends like you through the Happiness Club.

Richard Ellis, M.D., will be our speaker at our next Happiness Club meeting. Doctor Ellis will present a slide show on the three years he spent living in Alaska, to the Happiness Club on Thursday, July 15, from 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. at the Fairfield Sullivan Independence Hall in Fairfield. He will also share some of his happiness quotes that he does on a regular basis. Come on down, meet some great people, get connected and be happy. Admission is free. I look forward to connecting with you.

Thanks to each and every one of you for bringing happiness into the world. Thanks for encircling the world with your "miles of smiles."