Life is complicated, happiness is simple!

Why are you reading this? It says not to read it. You should have been trained by now to do everything you are told to do, right? Well, I guess you are not like everyone else. That's why you're reading this, right?

I think you will agree with me that we are told far too many things that we should and should not do. It is time for us to do our own thinking and find out what is best for us.

Speaking of what is best for us the subject of happiness comes to mind. There is nothing better than happiness for you and for everyone else for that matter.

I want to share a recent letter that was sent to me regarding a question about happiness.

"I love the column, and speaking about waking up happy and liking yourself, I have a question... How can you feel good about yourself when others won't allow you to? I thought I was a great mom and now, since our daughter met this man and married him, I am treated like a stranger. She tells me about all my faults when she talks to us at all. That is just one example. Unless I do as I am told or expected to do, I am not considered a nice person. This has puzzled me for many years. I am open to any suggestions." Thank you, A Friend.

My Dear Friend,

Thank you for your kind words and wonderful question. You're not the only person in the world wrestling with this predicament in your life. In fact the root of the problem may well be a situation we all face in one way or another.

Feeling good about yourself is not something that you need to have permission for from anyone except yourself. You do not have to wait till someone says you are a great person and you always do the right thing every minute of the day and night. Our first mistake in losing our happiness is putting it in someone else's hand in the first place. Happiness is power and when we give our power away to others, we experience powerlessness, unhappiness, depression, fear, lack, helplessness, hopelessness and victimization.

The reason happiness is power is that it is the only way we can have control over our life. By being happy now we can control the one thing in our life that we have any control over. By giving others control we can never experience happiness. Control is the biggest problem in any relationship. People want to have control over you, and they will if you let them. By taking control of our happiness we can learn to accept and even appreciate other people the way they are without judging them. Believe it or not, people are doing the best they can. The more you accept them, the more control you have over yourself and the more control you will have over other people and situations.

I suggest to you my dear friend that you live your own life and learn to be as happy as you possibly can be. You need to practice being happy. The fact is that you want your daughter to accept you so that you can be happy. The truth is that when you can be happy, your daughter will have to accept you. Happiness is power and people will recognize it in you as soon as you begin to practice it. I am sure you want your daughter to be happy. All parents want their kids to be happy. The best way to do that is to practice being happy for yourself right now.

My dear friend, if your not going to be happy now, when will you be? If you wait till everything is perfect, you will never be happy because there's no such thing as perfection.

So my advice to you is don't listen to other people that tell you how to behave so they can be happy or so they can like you. Being you is an important part of being happy. You must be who you are, not what someone else thinks you should be. If you like yourself then others will like you the way you are because you have learned to accept yourself. Accept others as well and don't try to change them.

By being happy you will do more good for yourself than anything else you can do. By being happy you will do more good for others than anything else you can do. How can you give others happiness if you don't have it for yourself? Remember that you can't give away what you don't have.

The time is now for you to reach out for your own happiness. Make the decision right now and live your life for real meaning and purpose. If you are not happy in your life it is your responsibility; it's not other people's fault. They may not be doing the right thing, but it's up to you to do the right thing for yourself. You do not need permission to be happy. Don't make excuses for what others do. Only you can be kind to yourself regardless of what others do. By being kind to yourself you become more tolerant of others.

Many people try to do the right thing and they try to be good. Happy people are good people. It's time to be good and happy, than you will be happy and good for yourself as well as others. Remember that you're not good enough until you're happy!

Our next Happiness Club meeting will be on Thursday, June 16, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. The presentation will be "Feeling Happy!" The meeting will be held at the Sullivan Independence Hall, Fairfield. Admission is free; everyone is welcome. Looking forward to seeing you. Don't come to this meeting or you might meet some great people, get connected, and step out with joy in your life!

Published in the Fairfield Citizen-News

BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian
May 25, 2005

Happiness Empowerment to You! LIVE RICHLY...PRACTICE HAPPINESS!

Sharing Love, Peace and Happiness with you,
Lionel Ketchian

Reminding you to make the "Happiness Decision." Giving you our Happiness Club Meeting dates, The Happiness Show, on television and on the Internet, the newest happiness information, and your latest copy of the Be Happy Zone Article's that are published every other Wednesday in the Fairfield Citizen-News. At the beginning of this newsletter you can read the latest article called: DON'T READ THIS!

Whatever you are, be a good one. - Abraham Lincoln

Think Smart, Look Smart, Be Smart...Be Happy!

Greetings! I've know I've been promising a happiness newsletter for some time. Finally, here it is. The Happiness Club is the Featured Happiness Web site in this issue. I hope you find it personally meaningful.

Happ-E-Quote :)

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant. - Robert Louis Stevenson

I just read your article in the Fairfield Citizen News and I am intrigued. Please send me a copy of your e-newsletter. Thanks!

Hope is like a road in the country; there wasn’t ever a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence. - Lin Yutang

LAUGHTER CLUBS
Julie carried out her Laughter Therapy training with Dr Madan Kataria the ‘Laughing Doctor’ in June 2002 and she now holds Laughter Club sessions around London as well as running workshops and leading Laughter Sessions at Conferences, special interest groups, etc.
She has been instrumental in forming THE LAUGHTER NETWORK, a group of professionals with diverse talents, but with a common goal, to bring more laughter and happiness into people's lives. Central London Laughter Clubs are held ON THE FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH WITH JULIE (020 7733 2389)

Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is. - Maxim Gorky

I just received your happ-e-newsletter and was very impressed with it. You mention gratitude is 95% of happiness. My partner and I have written a book "Gratitude Works: Open Your Heart to Love" which lists 5 things a day to be grateful for, for every day of the year, from the ordinary to the extraordinary. We would like to send a complimentary copy to you.

Thank you for your wonderful book Gratitude Works. I would love to quote the following from your book because it means so much. "Gratitude Works helps us stay in the present moment by being grateful for what we have now rather than dwelling on the past or dreaming into the future. It helps us learn to stop taking so much for granted." It is wonderful and I think everyone needs to understand all they can about gratitude because it certainly does work.

You've done it again..produced the best Happiness news letter and we love the color and the new masthead. It looks happy and reminds us of you! You are happiness and meeting you was such a pleasure..everyday Robert says I must phone Lionel and we'll try to do it today.

We have a group of college students arriving and we are going to be pretty busy motivating them to be happy and fulfill their destiny and in my talk I am going to use several thoughts from today's Happy news.

Love and hugs, bless you and thank you, Barbara and Robert Muller

A million thanks for your very kind words...I will remember them well......My mom used to say.."you can pick your friends, but not your family"...I could understand this as she explained it to me nicely...and now, I truly understand.....so your words really helped to ease and perhaps erase the ?.....there are some people, I now know that like to take the joy from others...THANK you for replacing my vision! Amen!

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood." -- Madame Marie Curie

Sounds wonderful! Sign me up! It's so great to find another who is "preaching the same gospel!" Warmly, Annie Glasgow

"Smile! It's lighter than you think!" "Little Endorphin Annie"

Great newsletter once again. I love the design, very uplifting, the format, very easy to read, lots of open space which encourages reading more and more, and of course the content is superb. - Bob

Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use. - Emily Post

I'm now in England with my husband for the first English stay (50:50 USA and UK). I have some friends who have gone way, way beyond the call of duty for me in the last few years and feel I can never express my gratitude enough. Read Excerpts from Rabbi Pliskin's book Thank You! and am going to order one for them and also one for my counselor who helped me tremendously--- of course one for myself, as well. Even when we are happy, sometimes we need reminders! Your newsletter gives me that boost. Happy Trails to You!

Thanks again for your inspiring newsletter. Love the new Letterhead. Kathleen Appleby

You Will Notice What You Look For

Make it important to be grateful. Then you will notice more and more things that others do for you. You might wonder why it is that more people are doing more things for you. In reality, it could be the same amount as before. Just that now you notice it.

Now you will notice smiles that make you feel better. And you will be grateful for those smiles. You will notice when people offer you food to eat or something to drink. You will notice information that people share with you because they feel you will benefit. You will notice minor acts of kindness that would not otherwise have registered on your mind’s screen of consciousness.

On her wall in her bedroom her daughter found this poem which is exactly as she lived each and every day..how lucky I was to have her happiness and smile around me all my life.

I WELCOME THIS NEW DAY. IT IS MINE TO SHAPE AND TO MOLD.

This is a new day, mine to use, to fill, to live as I see fit. How it unfolds is up to me.

The choice is mine.

I can be miserable, or I can have a great day.

I can doubt, or I can have faith.

I can feel depressed, or I can express the joy that is inherent within me.

I can fear, or I can trust - myself, others, God.

I can complain about aches and pains, or I can affirm God's perfect life within me.

I can dwell on loss, or I can seek new interests, new joy in living.

I can criticize others, or I can accept and bless them and enjoy happy and harmonious relationships.

I can harbor old grudges, or I can forgive.

I can speak of lack, or I can affirm God's never-failing supply.

I can give up, or I can make a fresh start.

I can go it alone, or I can depend on God.

Love, Barbara Gaughen-Muller

You can have big plans, but it's the small choices that have the greatest power. They draw us toward the future we want to create. - Robert Cooper

I am looking for a book to send to an inmate who is trying to discover his true nature and seek happiness. He is 23 years old and spending 47 years in prison for murder. He is looking to answer questions about himself like whether or not he is "good" or "evil" etc. Do you have a recommendation? Thank You, A friend.

My other recommendation for a spiritual book that may be of interest is: The Power of Now, By Echart Tolle, this book is available everywhere.

I am inspired by your good thoughts for our fellow human beings. Thank you for your commitment. Sharing Love, Peace and Happiness with you, Lionel

"There are victories of the soul and spirit. Sometimes, even if you lose, you win." - Elie Wiesel

Watch "The Happiness Show," every Monday night, at 9:30 - 10:00 PM. Your co-hosts are Lionel Ketchian and George Ortega. The TV show is broadcast in six towns on Cablevision of Connecticut channel 77. It airs in Bridgeport, Fairfield, Milford, Orange, Stratford and Woodbridge. Watch "The Happiness Show," every Thursday night from 9:00 - 9:30 PM on Cablevision in White Plains, New York on channel 76.

We are proud to present, at no charge, over one hundred 28 minute episodes we've taped so far in streaming audio (for 28.8 Kbps+), streaming video (for 56 Kbps+), and Select episodes in broadband streaming video (for DSL, cable, wireless and satellite) Internet connections.

Our next Happiness Club meeting will be a presentation called:

Date :) Thursday, June 16, 2005

Time :) 7:00 - 9:00 P.M.
Place :) Sullivan Independence Town Hall

Address :) 611 Old Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06824

We look forward to seeing you. Come on down, share the joy and meet some great people!

To see a photo taken at one of the meetings of the Happiness Club.

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Directions to Fairfield Sullivan Independence Town Hall
725 Old Post Road (corner of Beach Road) Fairfield, CT 06824

I 95 Southbound Exit 22:

Left onto North Benson Road, then cross Post Road/Route 1 and continue one block to stop sign. Take a right onto Old Post Road and continue one block to stop sign. Town Hall is across the street on the left and Independence Hall is down the driveway from Town Hall.

I 95 Northbound Exit 22:

Right onto Round Hill Road, then cross Post Road/Route 1 and
continue one block to stop sign. Town Hall is across the street on the right and Independence Hall is down the driveway from Town Hall.

Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn't mean he lacks vision." - Stevie Wonder

Jane Bradley is President and conducts the meetings.

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, June 16, 2005.

This will be our last meeting till September. No meetings for July & August.
Meetings are held at: The Normandy Resource Centre (The Legion),

111, Church Street,

St. Catharines, Ontario.

The time: 700 - 8:30 PM.

This facility is fully accessible. ADMISSION: A smile and always free.

Cheers! Jane

"If you would be rich, you will be rich; if you would be good, you will be good; if you would be learned, you will be learned. But wish for one thing exclusively, and don't at the same time wish for a hundred other incompatible things just as strongly." - William James

Our Happiness Club meets

When: One Sunday a Month

Time: 3:00 - 5:00 PM.

Where: 333 First Street San Francisco, CA 94105

"Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Our mailing list and your name is never sold, traded, or given to anyone outside of our organization. You can smile about that!

To be removed from this Happ-E-Newsletter reply with "Remove" in the subject line.

"Don't let go of the vine." - John Weissmuller, from the film, Tarzan.
Life is full of opportunities. Go For It! Carpe diem!

© Copyright 2005, Lionel R. Ketchian, all rights reserved.